King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are back with “Dragon”, another razor-sharp cut from the band’s upcoming thrash metal album. “PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation” is out June 16th on KGLW.
The nine-minute epic carries the same unmistakable thrash style that the band is trying to reconnect with, but around the five or six-minute mark there’s also the reminder that King Gizzard has entered its “jammy period.” Unrelenting guitar riffs continue to molt and mutate through multiple choreographed movements, with the titular “Dragon” evolving with every chugging power chord.
“Ahh my sweet baby Dragon is here fresh out of hell’s womb, summoned by the humans at the end of their pitiful road,” drummer Michael Cavanagh said. “It’s hard, fast and here to disrupt the natural order and annihilate everything in its path, so turn it up Sammy!”
Arriving alongside the track is an engrossing music video from long time collaborator Jason Galea. Using retro video equipment, the visual accompaniment gives off a nostalgic late-’90s vibe that was even inspired by PlayStation 1, throwing it back to a time when budding headbangers Stu Mackenzie, Joey Walker, and Michael Cavanagh were falling into metal.
“Over the last two months I dusted off my music video computer to slay the 10 minute ‘Dragon,’” Galea said. “I wanted to explore a harsh distorted visual palette using my live visual setup mixed with PS1 cutscene inspired animation and studio footage I filmed of the band.”
As King Gizzard prepares for this second foray into thrash metal, following 2019’s acclaimed “Infest the Rats’ Nest”, the band is also re-releasing its 2020 concert film “Chunky Shrapnel” to theaters. Captured during the band’s 2019 tour of Europe and the U.K., the shows heavily feature songs from the band’s ecologically-themed heavy metal concept album.
The film was originally scheduled to premiere in March 2020 but was thwarted by the pandemic.
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