King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have shared the title track from their forthcoming album Alien Metal, offering a second preview of a record built around modular synthesis while confirming a series of Australian shows for October.
by Paul Cashmere
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released the title track from their forthcoming studio album Alien Metal, the follow-up to 2025’s Phantom Island, while announcing a run of Australian performances that will include Melbourne’s Croxton Block Party and three New South Wales dates. The album continues the Melbourne band’s move into electronic music, drawing on ideas developed during their recent live “rave shows”.
The new song follows the earlier release of “Level 5” and further outlines the musical direction of Alien Metal, which will be released later this year through p(doom) Records. The project was written and recorded using the band’s custom modular synthesiser system, affectionately named “Nathan”, replacing the traditional guitar-driven approach that has defined much of the group’s catalogue.
The announcement continues one of the most prolific recording careers in contemporary music. Since forming in Melbourne in 2010, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have become known for regularly shifting genres while maintaining an extraordinary release schedule, issuing 27 studio albums before Alien Metal.
According to frontman Stu Mackenzie, the band’s exploration of modular synthesis fundamentally changed the way he approached songwriting.
“It completely rewired my brain,” Mackenzie said after discovering the Eurorack synthesiser format through bandmate Joey Walker.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to forget everything I know about music and relearn it all from scratch’.”
The album proved to be one of the group’s most demanding creative projects. Mackenzie revealed the band abandoned multiple recording sessions and entire concepts before settling on the final direction.
“We’ve never scrapped so much material as we have for this album,” he said. “Entire albums, entire universes that were formulated, created, recorded, deleted and started again.”
The breakthrough came during an extended late-night improvisation that ran for more than an hour. That performance ultimately became the foundation for every song on the record, with each track evolving from the same source session.
Walker said the finished album balances intensity with experimentation.
“Alien Metal goes really hard, but it also goes to really interesting places,” he said. “And it feels unique. It feels like us, still.”
Mackenzie described the sound as “crunchy, but also beautiful”, suggesting the record explores contrasting textures while remaining rooted in the band’s identity.
Musically, Alien Metal draws on techno, house, hardcore and jungle influences while retaining the psychedelic approach that has characterised much of the band’s work. Rather than relying on conventional band arrangements, the six members collectively manipulate the modular synthesiser during performances, an approach first introduced during last year’s rave shows before being expanded into a full studio album.
The accompanying Australian tour reflects those two sides of the band’s current live presentation. Melbourne audiences will see King Gizzard headline both nights of the Croxton Block Party, with each performance stretching to approximately two-and-a-half hours. The event will also feature Japanese pioneers Shonen Knife, C.O.F.F.I.N, Heavy Moss, Babe Rainbow, ORB, Gut Health, Public Figures, Moktar and solo Eurorack performances from Mackenzie across the weekend.
In New South Wales, the band will perform at Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion with Xiao Xiao, before staging a separate late-night rave performance at Liberty Hall.
International touring also continues. During August, King Gizzard will return to the United States for the sold-out Field Of Vision Festival, headline performances at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium and another dedicated rave show in Brooklyn.
The release of Alien Metal further extends a catalogue that has continually expanded into new musical territory. Across the past decade the band has explored garage rock, psychedelic rock, jazz, thrash metal, microtonal music, orchestral arrangements and electronic composition, often shifting dramatically from one album to the next. Their willingness to continually reinvent their sound has become one of the defining characteristics of the group.
The title track provides another indication of that evolution, while setting the stage for what will become the band’s 28th studio album.
Australian Tour Dates
13 October, Thirroul, Anita’s Theatre
14 October, Sydney, Hordern Pavilion
14 October, Sydney, Liberty Hall (Late RAVE Show)
17 October, Melbourne, The Croxton Block Party
18 October, Melbourne, The Croxton Block Party
Ticket Details
Presale: Now until Thursday, 30 July, 12.00pmGeneral Public On Sale: Friday, 31 July, 12.00pm
Tracklisting
Sapience
Alien Metal
Superheavy, Supercritical
Kill For The Steel
Level 5
Rapid Alpha Decay
Uqt
Atomic Collapse
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