Gamma Knife (song)

Last updated
"Gamma Knife"
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Gamma Knife single artwork.jpg
Single by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
from the album Nonagon Infinity
Released9 March 2016 (2016-03-09)
Studio Daptone Studios, Brooklyn, New York [1]
Genre
Length4:21
Label Heavenly
Songwriter(s) Stu Mackenzie
Producer(s) Stu Mackenzie
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard singles chronology
"Bone"
(2016)		"Gamma Knife"
(2016)		"People-Vultures"
(2016)
Music video
"Gamma Knife" on YouTube

"Gamma Knife" is a song by the Australian rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 9 March 2016 as the lead single for the band's eighth studio album Nonagon Infinity . The song gets its name from Gamma Knife surgery, a type of radiosurgery used to treat brain tumors by administering high-intensity gamma radiation therapy in a manner that concentrates the radiation over a small volume.

Contents

The song is one of the band's most played live and is featured on live albums such as Live in San Francisco '16 , Live in Brussels '19 , and Live at Red Rocks '22 .

Composition

"Gamma Knife" is a fast-paced rock song described by Uncut as having "hard-charging guitars, liberal use of effects pedals and a thrillingly frantic finale." [3] Guitarist Joey Walker has said it and "Robot Stop" were the first time the band had used odd time signatures "in a way that was at the core of what the album felt like, or was a thing that we were building the album around." [4]

The song contains a drum solo in 11
8 time. Frontman Stu Mackenzie recounted drummer Michael Cavanagh's hesitancy to play the solo: "[He] is a brilliant drummer, but he's very modest. He's not an ego drummer who wants to do a big solo. [...] I think when this song came around, it's got that kind of like — maybe 11/8 or a bar of six and a bar of five in a row? — so, I think he had this thing where this guitar thing was happening where he could do like a drum solo or drum break that wasn't really self-indulgent. It took a bit of convincing, which I guess is a testament to his low ego." [5]

Critical reception

Gamma Knife has received positive reception and is considered a highlight among the band's discography. Consequence named it one of the band's best, saying "It's a major reason for why many fans consider Nonagon Infinity to be King Gizzard's best record. With its feisty momentum, trippy timbres, and raucous yet welcoming vocals, Gamma Knife strikes a fine balance between catchy accessibility and uninhibited trickiness. The multilayered multicultural breakdown near the end is downright hypnotic, too, bolstering the track as a classic not only for the band but for psychedelic garage rock as a whole."

The song landed at 61 on Triple J's Hottest 100 list of 2016. [6] It was also shortlisted for Song of the Year at the APRA Music Awards of 2017. [7]

Personnel

Credits taken from Apple Music. [8]

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

Use in other media

"Gamma Knife" has appeared in television shows such as Marvel's Runaways , The Rookie: Feds , and My Dad the Bounty Hunter . [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "Watch King Gizzard's "Gamma Knife" + "People-Vultures" Music Videos". ATO Records. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Deville, Chris. "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – "People-Vultures"". Stereogum. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Picture This" (PDF). Uncut Magazine. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Hyden, Steven. "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Review (Some Of) Their Albums". Uproxx. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Barnes, Shane. "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: So Post-Music Not Even the Lead Singer Can Describe It". Flavorwire. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "1-100 Hottest 100 2016". triple j. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "APRA Drops Top 20 Contenders For Song Of The Year... And They're BIG". The Music. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Gamma Knife". Apple Music. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard". Tunefind.
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