King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – PetroDragonic Apocalypse
morning folks! this week we’re taking a break from the regular schedule to try and catch some recent (and a few not recent) releases – we’re kicking things off with a return to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard! as a note, while preparing this review, i realized i missed the last of their October 2022 reviews, Changes, with the move and the hiatus from reviewing around that time. i’ll def include it in the list this week, but we’re kicking things off with their newest release, PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation.
Motor Spirit is our opener – the drums on this song are incredible, furious and frenzied, a relentless engine for the track. the lyrics here are like, a Mad Max style deification of cars – the “drink the fuckin’ gas and killeth!” is phenomenal. there’s a bit of a lul in energy at the start of the second half of the song, but the atmosphere here is clogged in exhaust throughout. excellent start to the record. the shouted harmonies on Supercell is electric over the pounding drums and fuzzy guitars. Converge is p good but not one of my favorite tracks on the record. the period between the first and second “choruses” has some interesting vocal styles, and while lyrically interesting ultimately don’t work very well for me. Witchcraft gives me mad Polygondwanaland vibes, haha. Gila Monster was the lead single off the record, and absolutely a shining gem for me. detailing the rise of the dragon of the PetroDragonic Apocalypse, this track hits HARD and fast, and the chanting of it’s name is so goddamn infectious. fantastic song. Dragon brings the monster to it’s natural swell, and serves as the “narrative” heart here. pretty good track. i do appreciate how it bookends itself, haha. Flamethrower REALLY kicks off strong, haha. some incredibly good movements on this record, and i REALLY appreciate the motor spirit ending, that harkens back to the opening track.
faves – Motor Spirit, Gila Monster
dislikes –
i was pretty middling of my opinion with regards to Infest the Rats’ Nest, this album’s sibling. i appreciated the narrative and tone of the record, but ultimately didn’t connect too well with it, musically. had much less of a problem here – found the pounding drumming style deeply moving, and the guitar riffs were catchy (some real earworms on this record!). the “narrative” as it were is a tad weak, imo, but as a tone piece about the slow ending of the world, it’s very effective! i’m also normally not super into the incredibly long tracks, but the vibes on this one hit me in just the right places. really really dug what they were doing on this record, and i’m definitely gonna be coming back to this one very soon.
PetroDragonic Apocalypse – 9/10
first: Willoughby’s Beach | previous: Changes (missed, will be up soon!) | next: The Silver Cord
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