Alien Metal
| Alien Metal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 August 2026 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 40:55 | |||
| Label | p(doom) | |||
| King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Alien Metal | ||||
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Alien Metal is the twenty-eighth studio album by Australian rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 14 August 2026 through p(doom) Records. The album was preceded by the singles "Level 5",[2] "Alien Metal" and "Kill for the Steel". The album was surprise released on 14 August with no prior release date announcement from the band.
Background
[edit]Alien Metal was announced on 8 July 2026, alongside the release of the lead single "Level 5" and its music video starring Vince Colosimo.[3]
Composition
[edit]In 2023, the band released The Silver Cord, an electronic album that was followed by an increasing emphasis on introducing electronic material into their live shows through the use of a modular synth rig named "Nathan". Alien Metal was written over these years as the band grew increasingly familiar with electronic music, with Stu Mackenzie noting that the band scrapped multiple hours of demos over that time—more than any prior album: "Entire albums, entire universes that were formulated, created, recorded, deleted and started again."[4][5] Alien Metal came 14 months after the band's previous studio effort Phantom Island (2025), longer than usual between studio albums for the prolific band, as they deliberately wanted to take their time.[6]
King Gizzard took a DIY approach to recording Alien Metal by modifying the Eurorack synthesizers themselves to build the sound profile they wanted.[6] Mackenzie recalled that working with synthesizers for the album "completely rewired my brain".[7] The band spent a week in mid-2025 recording for the album before their rave tour in which they played only electronic material. Although the band did the 2025 rave tour, they wrote Alien Metal to sound distinct rather than try to replicate that live experience.[5] The band's drummer Michael Cavanagh also credited Joey Walker's solo career as "Bullant" as a large help with learning how to work with electronic instruments.[8] Mackenzie continued to experiment with electronic music, releasing a solo album Mango Sticky Rice through the band's Bootlegger program in December 2025, consisting of an hour and a half of ambient generative music. In June 2026, he played a handful of solo shows with his synth rig at a cafe in Melbourne.
The album's primary themes came to be in a one-hour improvisational session with the band in the key of F♯.[9] Much like the band's eighth album Nonagon Infinity, every single track on the album flows into the next, with the last flowing into the first, allowing it to play on an infinite loop.[5]
Promotion
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Arts Desk |   [10] |
| Pitchfork | 7.0[11] |
On 7 July 2026, the band added a show to their tour, a rave show at Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York, to promote the album.[12] The album was released on 14 August 2026 with no prior announcement, to coincide with the start of their self-hosted "Field of Vision" festival in Buena Vista, Colorado.
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Stu Mackenzie, and Joey Walker.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sapience" | 4:41 |
| 2. | "Alien Metal" | 5:08 |
| 3. | "Superheavy, Supercritical" | 6:23 |
| 4. | "Kill for the Steel" | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Level 5" | 5:35 |
| 6. | "Rapid Alpha Decay" | 4:31 |
| 7. | "Uqt" | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Atomic Collapse" | 6:29 |
| Total length: | 40:55 | |
Personnel
[edit]- Stu Mackenzie
- Joey Walker
- Cook Craig
- Ambrose Kenny-Smith
- Lucas Harwood
- Michael Cavanagh
- Joe Carra – mastering
- Jason Galea – artwork, design, photography
- Maclay Heriot – photography
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2026) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] | 26 |
| UK Album Downloads (Official Charts)[15] | 60 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[16] | 30 |
References
[edit]- ↑ Tepper, Ned (29 July 2026). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Announce Alien Metal Album, Release Explosive Title Track And Confirm Australian Tour". Blunt Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- ↑ Pearis, Bill. "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard go rave on new album 'Alien Metal,' share "Level 5:". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ Brannigan, Paul (8 July 2026). "King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard announce EDM album Alien Metal". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ Sandiford, Kayla (8 July 2026). "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are going electronic with new album, Alien Metal". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Dewing, Alex (14 August 2026). "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are still chasing the weird". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- 1 2 Brown, Eric Renner (14 August 2026). "Inside King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's Hard Dance Experiment: 'This Is Some Mad Scientist Sh–'". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ Brannigan, Paul (8 July 2026). ""I was like, I'm going to forget everything I know about music and relearn it all from scratch." King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard announce EDM album Alien Metal, share single Level 5". Louder. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ Cohen, Jonathan (8 July 2026). "King Gizzard Drummer CAVS Talks Groovy Solo LP". Spin Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ Broerman, Michael (8 July 2026). "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's New Album 'Alien Metal' Is Not Metal". L4LM. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ Oddy, Guy. "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard rave on with some 'Alien Metal'". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ Inscoe-James, Liam (19 August 2026). "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Alien Metal Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- ↑ Monroe, Jazz (8 July 2026). "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Are Releasing an EDM Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ Alien Metal (DJ Mix) by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard on Apple Music, 14 August 2026, retrieved 13 August 2026
- ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 24 August 2026. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
- ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart on 21/8/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Top Album Sales: Week of August 29, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2026.