King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard present ‘Dragon‘ their new single/video from their forthcoming double LP album, PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation, out June 16th on KGLW. “Bet you can’t say that three times fast” (Variety). Following lead single ‘Gila Monster’, ‘Dragon’ sees King Gizzard reach for and extend past the thrash greatness of 2019’s Infest The Rat’s Nest, and is presented alongside an acid-soaked video directed by Jason Galea. “Over the last two months I dusted off my music video computer to slay the 10-minute ‘Dragon,'” Galea says.
“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. The animation was created using Cinema 4D and processed through After Effects and a Tachyons circuit bent video unit.”
The music of PetroDragonic Apocalypse features Gizzard’s finest thrash-flavoured riffage yet, channelling the razor-sharp, prog-influenced vibe of the genre’s late-80s apex – super-complex but also brutal-as-f***. Of ‘Dragon’ drummer Michael Cavanagh says: “”Ahh my sweet baby Dragon is here fresh out of hell’s womb, summoned by the humans at the end of their pitiful road. It’s hard, fast and here to disrupt the natural order and annihilate everything in its path, so turn it up Sammy!”
PetroDragonic Apocalypse owes a lot to fantasy lore, as the title suggests. “We wanted to start the story in the real world, and then send it to hell,” grins Mackenzie. “It’s about humankind and it’s about planet Earth but it’s also about witches and dragons and shit,” he laughs.
Lyrically, PetroDragonic Apocalypse is fun on the surface, but profound if you dig a little deeper. Shakespeare and the Bible were definite inspirations for the voice of some of the lyrics, which play out the album’s blackly comedic and bleakly destructive tale with the highest of drama. It’s like a secondary voice on the album – it appears in each song, and it’s like words that were spoken 500 years ago, or 2,000 years ago. The music of PetroDragonic Apocalypse, meanwhile, features Gizzard’s finest thrash-flavoured riffage yet, channelling the razor-sharp, prog-influenced vibe of the genre’s late-80s apex – super-complex but also brutal-as-f***.
