King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava Review

Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava finds the band in their most mature and cohesive state yet.

Just 5 months since their last release and first ever double album, Omnium Gatherum, King Gizzard returns with their 3rd album of the year and 21st album, Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava. (yes I included the missing oxford comma and from here on will refer to it as IDPLMAL) Because Omnium Gatherum was such an extremely varied album, it was unclear, per usual, where Gizz was going to go with their subsequent releases. Admittedly as a devout and anxious Gizzhead, I was a bit fearful as I thought the band might be beginning to lose their spark. Boy, was I wrong. 

While some might discount Gizz's unorthodox, experimental and prolific nature, possibly chalking it up to them being a gimmick band that just jumps insincerely between genres and ideas to generate buzz, I’ve often found these opinions to be misplaced. The band seemingly doesn't take themselves too seriously, and I feel like this resistance to seriousness is what ultimately helps the band sincerely tackle new musical ideas and techniques with focus and purpose. They aren't so deep in the weeds of self-importance that the music becomes more about creating an image than making music to be proud of. They are able to make music like children make art. No inhibitions, no pretentiousness, and ultimately no rules. This free-spirited tenet is what makes an album like IDPLMAL work so well.

As the Liner Notes/Press Release indicate, the prototype for IDPLMAL was Omnium Gatherum jam track, The Dripping Tap.  This track was composed after COVID restrictions were lifted and the band could finally play together again. With the tapes rolling, the band “improvise(d)...and chase(d) every groove within reach for several magical hours.” These recordings were later edited and pieced together into what the track is today.  After this, the band all agreed to make an entire album this way. This album is IDPLMAL. For this new album, the band would have “no preconceived ideas at all, no concepts, no songs”, says MacKenzie. “We’d jam for maybe 45 minutes, and then all swap instruments and start again.” Later Stu would cut up and edit the recordings “so the songs were actually written during this editing phase, which is something we’d never done before “The Dripping Tap.” The only session framework the band chose to have for each jam session was that each session would be from one of the seven modes of the major scale, and would have a set bpm (beats per minute).

Much of Gizz’s popularity and cult following is attributable to their live sets and more specifically their proficiency in jamming. Gizz jams differently. They don’t rely on extending and overextending a solo into a sleep-inducing coma jam that requires drugs to enjoy. They instead rely on jamming with actual riffs, new ideas and moods that stretch far from the original base song. This, combined with the ability to medley without being too gimmicky, is why extreme fans strive to catch as many tour dates as possible on a tour. They know each night will be different. On IDPLMAL, the recorded jam sessions have allowed the bands free-spirited musical philosophies to flourish. The true life and on-the-spot live energy of the band has been documented unfiltered in real time. One might worry that such a recording and composition process would create songs that feel like mashed and spliced messes, but the songs never lose pulse or purpose.

IDPLMAL features some of the band’s poppiest work yet with the albums’ opener, “Mycellium,” which feels like an elevated Fishing For Fishies track that decided to make some Bahama Mama Cocktails and have a Caribbean BBQ. Catchy guitar licks, tasty bass grooves, Beach Boy Harmonizing, saxophone (yes you read that correctly), uplifting flute, and Amby’s smooth chocolatey vocals allow this track to stay above 7 minutes without feeling like a chore. “Ice V” is one of the band’s grooviest tunes where an unwavering drum beat, flute acrobatics, smooth bass, clean guitar licks, wah wah guitar, and organ solos propel this groove past the 10-minute mark without incident. On prog-folk track “Magma,” the band's instrumentation is tighter than ever with amazing flute work playing off guitar and new synth sounds akin to a 70s sci-fi soundtrack (i.e. Alain Goraguer’s La Planète Sauvage). And on top of this, the chanting vocals fit right in with the groove, making it feel like a beatnik track that’s only missing snapping fingers and cool hats. The next track, “Lava,” grows from a spaced-out warm-up jam to a full-on drum circle. The song closes with one of my favorite moments of the album, where an everchanging mantra is chanted and swells as Cavs wails away on the drums.

What proves so magical and effective about IDPLMAL is that it showcases the bands’ ability to make instrumentally-driven “jam” music that does not implode on itself in over-indulgence, over-extension, or predictability. The longest track,  13-minute-long “Hell’s Itch” doesn’t feel overextended as instruments and vocals play off each other in an ever-changing musical journey that keep the listener engaged and wanting more. The best way I can explain this track is as a 5-course meal, with each subsequent course coming at a time when you are full of the current course. The next track, “Iron Lung,” brings a lounge blues feel before swelling head over heels into the album’s heaviest jam, but just when it gets to the point of no return, a crunchy breakdown riff breaks through with Amby belting some of his most powerful vocals ever. These vocals give the song new life and power and allow the instruments to keep pushing forward with purpose. As the song closes, Stu and Amby bounce back and forth for pure vocal magic that this band has never even touched on before. The albums closer, “Gliese 710,” seemingly serves as an afterword. With a dark and prophetic tone, it recaps the themes of the album. Comparatively speaking it’s a weak track, but it does an excellent job winding down the album and leaves me wanting to restart the album all over again.

Throughout IDPLMAL, instruments play off each other like no other Gizz album to date. No instrument or vocal dominates, they all belong and they all fit right where they are. And while the layered jams showcase the band’s instrumental prowess, more importantly the composition and inclusion of catchy vocal melodies are woven in to allow for memorable songs. Songs that are re-listenable not just because they are catchy, but complex enough to be dissected and appreciated differently with multiple listens. And as if this wasn’t enough, the band has expanded their vocal repertoire: adding chanting, pseudo-rapping, harmonizing, soft spoken parts, etc. There is more vocal variation in this one album than most rock bands have in their entire careers. Beyond the music itself, this album displays some of the band’s most impressive production yet. It maintains the vintage and lo-fi aesthetic that has become one of the band’s tenets while feeling full and HiFi. 

Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava finds the band in their most mature and cohesive state yet. In usual Gizz fashion, this album has opened so many new doors for the band through inclusion of new instruments, vocalizations and overall composition method. I am in constant awe of how this band reinvents themselves while still remaining true to the art they wish to create. This album displays everything Gizz does best while simultaneously performing it in a way they’ve never done before.