They say good things come to those who wait, and after two years in the making, Aussie psychedelic-rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (KG&TLW) have announced the arrival of their new, full-length LP, 'Nonagon Infinity'.
Despite being their tenth release in just six years, the forthcoming album is set to be one of the band's most impressive. However, 'Nonagon Infinity' has certainly not been an easy ride, after the experimentalists spent two years of writing and planning, even releasing two other records in between. "It's definitely the densest thing that we have done," frontman Stu Mackenzie says.
"['Nonagon Infinity'] had the most ideas and has been the most involved, on our end. It took the most time and thought of anything we've ever done… it took a long time for it to brew."
However, their hard work has seemingly paid off, with the album being dubbed as a true coming of age for the Melbourne septet. "We wanted to work on heavier music than we ever had before," Stu explains. "We went back to our heaviest record to experiment with some of the darker musical parts, different time signatures and songs that move and shift on their own."
As their main songwriter, Stu stays the album's concept, to be infinitely looping, was one they had toyed with for quite some time. "It's kind of supposed to be one big song with chapters," he says. "It links on from 'In Your Mind Fuzz' [the band's 2014 release] in a lot of ways. We started working on it around the time that album was being finished off, so I think we thought it would be the next record. But it wasn't finished, so we recorded 'Quarters!' (2015) which was supposed to be really different with songs that didn't interfere with 'Nonagon Infinity'."
Even after that the band still hadn't finished the album, releasing another record in November just last year. Finally, this March, the band premiered the album's first single 'Gamma Knife', sparking much excitement about the dizzying new record. "Of all the songs on the album, ['Gamma Knife'] just felt like a pretty all-rounded, correct introduction to what the record is all about. It makes sense for it to represent the record," Stu says.
Although the musical inspiration for the album was somewhat shared among the last two releases, Stu claims that in terms of style, 'Nonagon Infinity' stands alone. "We don't really want to be pigeonholed into a genre, but to me, this record is like 'proto-metal' or something… We're exploring something for ourselves that we haven't done before."
It seems fans loved the sneak peak of the album, with 'Nonagon Infinity' receiving thousands of pre-orders on the single's first day. On the day of the album's release, KG&TLW will be overseas, touring the US. "I'm looking forward to getting back to the States. It's a fun place to hang out, there's lots of sights of see and lots of friendly people. I get just as excited for the adventure as I do for the shows. It's a good excuse to get out, do something with your life and see the world," Stu laughs.
Though Aussie fans should not be disappointed, as Stu has promised us a tour upon their return. 'Nonagon Infinity' is available now.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Tour Dates
Sat 18 Jun - Dark Mofo (Hobart)Sat 25 Jun - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Thu 30 Jun - The Gov (Adelaide)
Fri 1 Jul - Badlands (Perth)
Sat 2 Jul - Badlands (Perth)
Sun 3 Jul - Mojos (Fremantle)
Fri 8 Jul - Croxton (Melbourne)
Sat 16 Jul - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Sun 17 Jul - Barwon Club (Geelong)
Sat 23 Jul - Splendour In The Grass (Byron Bay)
Fri 5 Aug - Metro (Sydney)
Sat 6 Aug - TBC (Wollongong)
