Review by Xephyr for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation (2023)
Realization Of Annihilation
PetroDragonic Apocalypse is the second peculiar Metal offering from the abundantly productive Australians that try their damnedest to keep their fans guessing at every turn. This one comes at slightly less of a surprise given Infest The Rats' Nest's popularity, which was a spectacle no one could look away from once word got out that King Gizz made a Thrash Metal album of all things. I certainly couldn't and it turned out to be a spectacularly interesting blend of Stoner and Thrash drenched in their Heavy Psych influences that got a ton of play out of a metalhead like me. However, it feels strange calling King Gizz's brand of Thrash genuinely true to genre, and PetroDragonic Apocalypse only obscures the genre lines further with its crisper production job, extended and meandering song structures, and wacky progressive tendencies.
After browsing through an interview, the band stated that this album was created similarly to the first of their three 2022 albums Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava in that all of the songs were created and recorded within one day each with heavy improvisation and only a general idea of the album's theme. While this showcases Gizz's immense musical talent as players and songwriters, it also confirms my suspicion in regards to the somewhat repetitive nature of PetroDragonic Apocalypse on the whole. Infest The Rats’ Nest held true to its classic thrashy influences with most tracks being less than four minutes, whereas this album sees almost all tracks breaking five minutes with three passing the eight minute mark. The extended and jammy song structures alongside repetitive riffing and gruff, hoarse vocals that evolve into full on throat singing during tracks like “Motor Spirit” and “Dragon” create a strangely compelling fusion that, to my ears, is more of a Progressive Stoner experience overall. As much as I enjoyed Infest The Rats’ Nest as a concept, PetroDragonic Apocalypse feels like a true reimagining of how Gizz prefers to write and perform a Metal album given their strengths as a group.
Despite having a crisper and less fuzzy production job than Infest The Rats’ Nest, this album still lacks that bite and encompassing, aggressive lower end that you’ll hear from other bands that use similar thrashy riffing. They show they’re capable of it though, as the opening of “Converge” and “Flamethrower” are sufficiently destructive, but they eventually transition back into their scratchy, off-kilter riffing or driving chugs. Normally, riffs are the backbone of any Metal album and while Gizz have shown that they are more than capable of writing cool guitar parts, it’s fairly obvious that they had a theme in mind during their sessions for this album. While it makes the album’s theme extremely cohesive, the guitar work starts to blend together over repeated listens a bit too much for me to get truly excited about it. There are some standout sections like the sharp fills between the throat singing in “Motor Spirit”, the main riff of “Gila Monster”, and the overall lead guitar work of “Dragon”, but the real hooks of PetroDragonic Apocalypse come from how all the other elements and songwriting are woven around the Metal base. Tribal-like toms and drum breaks help to create some of the best grooves on the album, showcasing Gizz’s ability to handle abrupt transitions and allowing them to inject a heavy dose of meandering Psych into almost every track. “Dragon” is the crown jewel of this alliance between their usual style and their Metal musings with its early, abrupt transition into a full three minute rebuild to get back to the original riff. “Flamethrower” does this as well, but goes one step further and launches into an otherworldly, electronics driven soundscape that will apparently lead into their next project. The rest of the tracks range from the standout “Gila Monster” with its infectious gang vocals and poignant riffing, to the energetic and fast “Supercell”, to the slightly disappointing middle of “Converge” and “Witchcraft”. “Witchcraft” especially leans into Gizz’s roots thanks to its brighter lead guitar tone, less aggressive vocals, and a Pysch interlude that sounds like it could be on a completely different album.
When I originally listened to Infest The Rats’ Nest in 2019 I found it strange that my favorite song off the album was “Superbug”, the only track on the surprise Thrash album that had almost nothing to do with Thrash. So, the fact that PetroDragonic Apocalypse lessens the Thrash influence but doubles down on the Progressive Stoner angle is only a positive in my opinion despite certain aspects overstaying their welcome within the longer song structures. It’s awesome and exciting to hear such a prestigious band tackle the world of Metal in their own way. In hindsight, Infest The Rats’ Nest feels like Gizz wanting to create a Thrash inspired album within the confines of the Thrash genre, whereas this album feels like a realization of what can be done when approaching Metal from a different angle. While I don’t think that PetroDragonic Apocalypse is jaw-droppingly groundbreaking, it successfully conveys a strong, cohesive theme of environmental destruction using distinct elements in ways I wouldn’t have guessed. Although their riffs don’t hit has hard as other Metal albums and their Progressive elements may be a bit too Psych focused to really make an impact within the songwriting, I’m very glad that this album managed to show everyone what a King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard Metal album can really sound like if they lean into their identity as a group.