King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are going electronic with new album, Alien Metal

The latest in a prolific string of releases, Alien Metal arrives as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's twenty-eighth album. It follows a series of recent "rave shows" that the Melbourne six-piece have taken around the world over the past year, and leans into the electronic dance sound emulated on stage by their custom modular synth rig, which the band have named "Nathan".

Today, they share "Level 5", the first preview of the eight-track collection of songs. It comes alongside a music video which features a cameo from Australian actor Vince Colosimo, who is known for his roles in Chopper, Underbelly, and more.

Alien Metal was written and recorded entirely on "Nathan", after the band's experience of experimenting at the rave shows opened their eyes up to the possibilities of abandoning traditional instruments for the synth. "It completely rewired my brain," vocalist and guitarist Stu Mackenzie says. "I was like, 'I'm going to forget everything I know about music and relearn it all from scratch'."

The band made the album over several years, constantly scrapping material and starting again until inspiration landed during an improvisational jam session that lasted over an hour. "We've never scrapped so much material as we have for this album," Mackenzie adds. "Entire albums, entire universes that were formulated, created, recorded, deleted and started again."

The songs on Alien Metal course through techno, hardcore, house and jungle influences through the familiar psychedelia of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, as guitarist and vocalist Joey Walker says: "Alien Metal goes really hard, but it also goes to really interesting places. And it feels unique – it feels like us, still."

Alien Metal artwork

Alien Metal tracklist

"Sapience"
"Alien Metal"
"Superheavy, Supercritical"
"Kill For The Steel"
"Level 5"
"Rapid Alpha Decay"
"Uqt"
"Atomic Collapse"