“This is different to The Shacklewell Arms…”
Indeed, this was different to the 200-capacity venue in Hackney - especially when you’re playing a lauded venue based in North London worthy of fitting 10,000 people. The eclectic ‘rock’ band from Australia at last found themselves here after their first trip to the U.K. 5 years ago.
Since then, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have amounted 15 LPs and amassed a multitude of genres - from the blues-rock-infested Fishing For Fishies LP earlier this year, to the thrash-metal-inspired Infest The Rats’ Nest LP this past August. With such jaw-dropping feats under the 7-piece band’s belts, greatness awaited them with the anticipation of an intricate visual installation and a ravished sold-out crowd.
King Gizzard immediately capitalised upon the recent waves of their latest LP tonight with the thrusting of their thrash-metal tracks ‘Self-Immolate’ and ‘Mars for the Rich’. These two explosive singles popped the climaxing bubble of the patient crowd which rapidly resulted in a hysterical frenzy. Whilst some of the guzzling distortional tones were lost to the capaciousness of the venue, King Gizzard barged their way through the historic doors of Alexandra Palace in a rousing fashion.
Wading into more similar territory, the arbitrary sounds of this band transcended into blues-rock, courtesy of their still-recent-but-not-recent-enough LP of this year, Fishing for Fishies. With the incessant harmonica spiels carried throughout such tracks as ‘Boogieman Sam’, ‘Plastic Boogie’, and ‘This Thing’, the tonalities of these upbeat tropes undeniably suited the acoustics encapsulated within these confinements. Beyond this, the act’s overarching narrative imbued by the discourse of climate change, left an admirable mark on the first stretch of tracks in a burgeoning commentary supporting Extinction Rebellion’s recent global marches.
Reverting back to the Metallica-hayday of thrash metal intrinsic to the 80s, King Gizzard’s set seemed bizarrely coherent with the various musical tropes recited tonight. No part better exemplified this coherency than the set’s conclusion in which the 60s-psych-rock formulas embedded in ‘Rattlesnake’ and ‘Float Along - Fill Your Lungs’ were excavated. With a different form of vim and vigour incited at the beginning of this odyssean set, the latter track exuded such engulfing sounds from the multiple whirring guitars, steady grooves, and heart-wrecked vocals. As if floating us heavenwards from the treacherous pits of metal, King Gizzard at last invited us into heavenly doors of psychedelia.
For this eclectic band, it seemed as if their 5th time performing in the U.K. became the ultimate charm - showcasing the raw talent from each and every performer across each and every ‘rock’ genre. Whilst the visual instalment proved insipid with its 1-dimensional array of colours and shapes, the act ultimately triumphed over this facet in marking themselves as one of the most heterogeneous rock bands of the decade for this sold-out crowd. Alexandra Palace may not prove to be my favourite venue within London, yet King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have undeniably become one of my most cherished experimental bands - travelling a lengthy sonic way within a shortened set of time.
7.5/10
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's latest LP, Infest the Rats' Nest, is out now and can be found here.
Tickets to their current EU tour can also be found here.
Main photo courtesy of Carolina Faruolo, whose work can be found here.
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