Murder Of The Universe is the second of five albums from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard set for release in 2017. Broken down into 3 distinct 'chapters', the 21-track album is concerned with the downfall of man and the death of the planet. The album was recorded at Flightless HQ in East Brunswick, Melbourne Australia in early 2017 and produced by the band's Stu Mackenzie. Lit by thunderclaps and lightning, Murder Of The Universe inhabits a sonic landscape of death, decay, ossification, fossilisation, rebirth. It is a place occupied by wandering shape-shifting beasts, bleeding skies, pools of blood, great fires and mushroom clouds; a planet rent asunder by conflict. A disorientating experience, the album hinges on three distinct sections that rise from larval beds, and whose lyrics should be carved in stone, squeezed from moss, discovered in ancient runes. And all the while a passing cast of characters imbue the tale with both human and non-human emotions. Additional narration is provided throughout by Melbourne folk singer Leah Senior and 'UK Charles', an automated robotic voice programme that the band downloaded for free, and who features as the cyborg character, Han-Tyumi. Snippets of earlier recordings breakthrough collection I'm In Your Mind Fuzz and Nonagon Infinity resurface throughout like ghostly shadow form to haunt their latest sound. In years to come King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will be judged not by their separate albums, but by a body of work where themes, melodies, motifs, riffs and ideas resurface and recur, each album peeling back a layer of the onion to glimpse at past and future alike. "We've always thought of our albums as portals through which you can move from one to the other," says Stu. "Or maybe each album is a bridge to the next part of the story. Songs sync together, records can be played in loops and past ideas recur or are reprised, and then woven into new textures. These ideas aren't necessarily contrived though...sometimes these just happen."
P**8
Guns are cracking bums are smacking
Ahhhh, this album is my favourite thing ever! Since first seeing the wizards at Glastonbury (sadly on the tele-box :( I've turned into an obsessed nut job and delving my way through their awesome back catalogue and watching all the you tube vids. It's not often that a new (or rather current) band grabs my attention like this. My roots are in rock, but I also love squelchy psy trance and I can really hear some of the bass lines in this in some of the dance music I listen to and equally high energy (listen to the lovely squelchy bits in The Acrid Corpse). I've now listened several trillion times to MOTU, Flyying Microtonal Banana, and Nonagon Infinity and this is def my fave (although the others are also very cool). I love everything about this album, it's so different - I love the sci-fi fantasy element with the story and love that it plays like one long track with different hooks reappearing though out. My misunderstanding of the aussie accent makes it even more fun, it definitely sounds like they're singing 'Guns are cracking, bums are smacking' on The Lord of Lightening, my one disappointment was finding out that isn't the actual lyric.
L**E
Concept prog meets acid punk
This album split fans. Those who couldn't stand the spoken word and those who "got it".This album is technically only 3 tracks long. Each song is very long however with many different sections. Whilst an earlier album "nonagon infinity" had 9 songs that all played into each other and looped around.This one has songs intended as epics. King Gizzard don't take their selves seriously and that's a big part of having fun with this album.Technical playing and genre mixing, with spoken word throughout. What is refreshing about this is a band making long songs as artistic lengthy pieces rather than singles. In an era dominated by digital download singles. It's rare artists make proper concept album formats.This album is crazy, if you like their faster heavier works this album is for you providing you can get along with the pompous mystic spoken word and the speaking robot that wants to feel emotion, han tyuomi.Epic, bonkers, brilliant, tons of fun and an engaging listen.
M**W
Fantastic
Fantastic Album, seems to of been disliked for the speaking but only adds to the whole album.
H**E
Universe Murder Dam Right
Wow naff said
M**E
Bonkers, unhinged and amazing
I came across King Gizzard playing parts of this LP live on KEXP. What a find! I've not been as excited about finding a new band in years, already bought three of their albums in the last week. This album is wild, crazy, heavy, strange, occasionally hilarious and musically brilliant. Don't be put off by what looks like lots of very short songs on the tracklisting - there are only really 3 very long songs here. The first 4 minutes of Han-Tyumi (Welcome To an Altered Future and Digital Black) are some of the most exciting rock I've heard in a very long time. And these guys, despite their brilliant musical discipline and remarkable workrate, are still audibly having a whale of a time - as I hope you will if you buy this album. Agreed, there is a bit too much spoken word and I'd love to hear a version of the album with 90% of it removed to let the music breathe, but, particularly in the final suite, the words are so integral to the (insane) story of the universe being destroyed in an apocalyse of vomit, it wouldn't be the same without them. Off to buy the 10 albums I've not yet got...
M**E
good album
Arrived quickly, good album
A**R
Brilliant
Awesome
H**Y
Love it. With its narration the music brings to ...
Love it. With its narration the music brings to mind some sort of psychedelic 70's sci-fi epic cartoon, although I agree with an earlier review that suggested perhaps in time you will wish the narration wasn't there. This band goes from strength to strength and are fast becoming a favourite of mine.
J**L
Excellent purchase
The record is superb. Excellent Package, fast delivery and beautiful vinyl color.No complains at all. Delivery came earlier than expected.
V**A
Mais uma excelente viagem dessa banda
O vinil é lindo, a música é perfeita e este LP tem um encarte fabulaso!!
A**R
Amazing album, high quality vinyl, fast shipping.
One of the greatest prog-metal albums ever. Designed to be heard on vinyl.
D**C
Dope
Un gran álbum y una gran edición! Si eres fan de KGLW, así como de las ediciones locochonas en vinilo no lo pienses tanto. Es un buen álbum, no el mejor pero muy disfrutable y con un Lore bastante interesante. Recomendado sin duda, llegó antes de tiempo y muy bien protegido.
U**R
Die Alleskönner
mit einem ihrer besen Alben. Live eine Wucht, die Platte überzeugt mit Klang und Qualität
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