The last we heard from the lizard wizards over at King Gizzard they had released their jazziest excursion yet with Changes (2022). Of course, staying true to their chameleonic nature, the band have abandoned this direction, at least for the time being, and have made a straight-up thrash metal album with PetroDragonic Apocalypse. If you’re able to keep up with the band’s output, this is not entirely surprising as PetroDragonic Apocalypse is a successor to 2019’s Infest the Rat’s Nest, which saw the band thrashing it up for the first time.
With PetroDragonic Apocalypse it seems the four years since Infest the Rat’s Nest have done the group well, as the material on display here is superior to its predecessor: the riffs go harder, the runs run faster, and the arrangements are generally more progressive. With two tracks that push the 9 minute mark, it’s clear the band have gotten comfortable. Infest the Rat’s Nest had a sort of doom metal flavour that is not as apparent here, and the tracks here all harken back to the glory days of the 1980’s – Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Motörhead, etc. The bold and burning opening number, “Motor Spirit”, makes the points of reference rather obvious.
Thematically PetroDragonic Apocalypse is consistent with Infest the Rat’s Nest, with the band effectively making another concept album centred around environmental destruction. The full title reads as much: PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation. While it is easy to feel like King Gizzard are making this music in jest, they make it feel so light and effortless, the music is exceptionally demanding to play and the musicians deserve praise for it, especially drummer Michael Cavanagh, who must have at least a few blisters after these sessions.
Still, as with Infest the Rat’s Nest, I wouldn’t recommend this to fans of King Gizzard as much as I would to fans of metal. Stylistically the music is too entrenched by genre conventions that you have to at least enjoy the sound of metal to some extent to get the most out of this release. Equally however, this could serve as the introduction to thrash you never knew you needed.
