Murder of the Universe | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 23 June 2017 | |||
Recorded | Early 2017 | |||
Studio | Flightless HQ | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:38 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Stu Mackenzie | |||
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard chronology | ||||
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Singles from Murder of the Universe | ||||
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Murder of the Universe is the tenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 23 June 2017 by Flightless in Australia, [4] ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the second of five albums released by the band in 2017. [5]
The album was nominated for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2017, despite controversy over the band's win the previous year with Nonagon Infinity . [6]
Murder of the Universe is a concept album split into three separate stories, called suites, each containing elements of spoken word to carry a narrative. [7] The first two suites feature Leah Senior's narration, [2] while NaturalReader's "UK, Charles" text-to-speech application narrates the final suite.[ citation needed ]
The first suite, The Tale of the Altered Beast, explores themes of temptation and tells of a human who stumbles on a mystical human/beast hybrid creature dubbed the Altered Beast. The story starts with the pursuit of the human being, who slowly takes an interest in the idea of being altered – something considered taboo in the human's society. The perspective then changes to the Altered Beast itself, who is filled with murderous intentions. Confronted by the Beast, the human experiences a craving for power and slowly succumbs to the temptation of becoming altered. Accepting their mutual fate, the beast and human merge, creating a newly altered beast, who now craves even more flesh. However, the Altered Beast suffers greatly from absorbing another consciousness – it loses track of its identity and eventually dies of insanity, decaying into the earth.
I think it's the most narrative-driven thing we've done – it's three distinct, but somewhat interrelated stories.
—Stu Mackenzie [7]
The second suite, The Lord of Lightning vs. Balrog, focuses on an epic battle between two entities dubbed The Lord of Lightning and Balrog, who represent the forces of light and darkness, respectively. The suite starts with a foreword from the perspective of a storyteller who recalls the battle. The action begins with the track "The Lord of Lightning", which is about the general destruction caused in a town by lightning fired from the entity's finger. He is perceived as evil and malevolent by the townsfolk. However, when he fires lightning at a corpse, it is somehow reanimated as a creature known as Balrog. This creature chooses to ignore the Lord of Lightning, and instead wreaks further havoc on the townspeople. The Lord chooses to fight the Balrog and defeats him, eventually leaving him as a burning corpse in "The Acrid Corpse". The Lord of Lightning then departs, choosing not to harm the townsfolk anymore.
The third and final suite, Han-Tyumi & The Murder of the Universe, is about a cyborg in a digital world who gains consciousness and, in confusion, decides to strive only for what a cyborg cannot do: vomit and die. He decides to create a creature dubbed the "Soy-Protein Munt Machine" whose only purpose is to vomit. When the creature rejects his love, Han-Tyumi decides to merge with the machine, which causes it to lose control. This machine explodes and infinitely expels vomit, which eventually engulfs the entire universe in a type of grey goo scenario: and so the universe is murdered.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100 [8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
The A.V. Club | D+ [10] |
Clash | 8/10 [2] |
Classic Rock | [11] |
Exclaim! | 6/10 [12] |
The Irish Times | [1] |
The Line of Best Fit | 7.5/10 [13] |
Paste | 7.4/10 [14] |
Pitchfork | 8.0/10 [15] |
Under the Radar | 8.5/10 [16] |
Murder of the Universe received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album holds an average critic score of 73/100, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [8]
AllMusic's Tim Sendra wrote in his review for the album that "King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's second album of 2017 is a rampaging, feverish blast of sci-fi prog punctuated by whizzing synths and robotic voice-overs." [9]
Exclaim! 's Cosette Schulz commented that "The 21-track album is certainly the strangest and most draining release that King Gizzard have made to date; not as ambitious as the seamlessly looping Nonagon Infinity, or this year's earlier release Flying Microtonal Banana, but a feat nonetheless." [12]
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rough Trade | Albums of the Year | 2017 | 24 |
All music composed by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard; all lyrics written by Stu Mackenzie; stories written by Mackenzie, except "Murder of the Universe" written by Joey Walker and Mackenzie.
Most vinyl releases have tracks 1–12 on Side A, and tracks 12–21 on Side B; "The Lord of Lightning" is split between the two sides. [18] 2023 reissues include two records, with each of the suites getting its own side, with an etched fourth side.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "A New World" | 0:57 |
2. | "Altered Beast I" | 2:23 |
3. | "Alter Me I" | 0:45 |
4. | "Altered Beast II" | 4:28 |
5. | "Alter Me II" | 1:25 |
6. | "Altered Beast III" | 2:14 |
7. | "Alter Me III" | 1:26 |
8. | "Altered Beast IV" | 5:10 |
9. | "Life/Death" | 1:00 |
Total length: | 19:48 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
10. | "Some Context" | 0:16 |
11. | "The Reticent Raconteur" | 1:05 |
12. | "The Lord of Lightning" | 5:06 |
13. | "The Balrog" | 4:29 |
14. | "The Floating Fire" | 1:54 |
15. | "The Acrid Corpse" | 1:00 |
Total length: | 13:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Welcome to an Altered Future" | 0:55 |
17. | "Digital Black" | 2:46 |
18. | "Han-Tyumi, the Confused Cyborg" | 2:21 |
19. | "Soy-Protein Munt Machine" | 0:30 |
20. | "Vomit Coffin" | 2:19 |
21. | "Murder of the Universe" | 4:09 |
Total length: | 13:00 |
Credits for Murder of the Universe adapted from liner notes. [19]
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Additional musicians
Production
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [20] | 3 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [21] | 139 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [22] | 115 |
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ) [23] | 9 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [24] | 58 |
UK Albums (OCC) [25] | 94 |
US Billboard 200 [26] | 106 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [27] | 6 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [28] | 15 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [29] | 20 |
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh. They are known for exploring multiple genres, staging energetic live shows, and building a prolific discography.
Nonagon Infinity is the eighth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 29 April 2016 on ATO Records. The album is designed to play as an "infinite loop" where each song segues into the next and the last song segues into the first, so that "the record can be played front-to-back-to-front-to-back and the sound won't break". The title is a reference to this idea, as there are nine songs on the album that could be played "infinitely".
Flying Microtonal Banana is the ninth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 24 February 2017 on Flightless Records in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the first of five albums released by the band in 2017 and their first exploration of microtonal music, utilising custom built instruments.
Paper Mâché Dream Balloon is the seventh studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 13 November 2015 on the band's Bandcamp, and then a week later on Heavenly Records. The album was recorded with almost entirely acoustic instruments.
Quarters! is the sixth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 1 May 2015 on Heavenly Records, peaking at No. 99 on the ARIA Charts.
12 Bar Bruise is the debut studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 7 September 2012 on Flightless. It peaked at No. 14 on the ARIA Albums Chart after being released on vinyl in November 2018.
Oddments is the fourth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 7 March 2014 on Flightless. It peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Albums Chart after being re-released on vinyl in November 2018. "Work This Time" remains the band's most listened-to track on Spotify, with over 40 million plays to date.
I'm in Your Mind Fuzz is the fifth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 October 2014 on Flightless Records in Australia, just over a week later on 11 November in the United States on Castle Face Records, and on 1 December that same year on Heavenly Records worldwide. At the J Awards of 2014, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz was the band's first album to chart on the ARIA charts, peaking at number 85.
Sketches of Brunswick East is the eleventh studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and the third by Mild High Club. The title is a reference to the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East and Miles Davis' 1960 LP Sketches of Spain, which inspired the album's jazz-oriented sound. It was released on 18 August 2017, by Flightless in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the third of five albums released by the band in 2017.
Gumboot Soup is the thirteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 December 2017 by Flightless. The album is the final of five albums released by the band in 2017. The artwork was designed by longtime band collaborator Jason Galea.
Infest the Rats' Nest is the fifteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 16 August 2019 by the band's record label, Flightless, and ATO Records. The album sees the band using a heavy metal and thrash metal style, which they had only briefly touched upon on previous albums. Its lyrics address environmental themes such as climate change and ecological disaster through a cli-fi narrative involving space colonisation.
Live in Brussels '19 is the third in a trio of benefit live albums by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which was released digitally to Bandcamp on 15 January 2020. The previous two live albums, Live in Adelaide '19, and Live in Paris '19, were both released five days prior. The album debuted at number 34 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Live in Adelaide '19 is the second in a trio of benefit live albums by Australian psychedelic rock band, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which was released digitally to Bandcamp on 10 January 2020. It was released simultaneously with one other live album, Live in Paris '19. The third album Live in Brussels '19 was then released five days later. The album debuted at number six on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Chunky Shrapnel is a 2020 concert film and live album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
Butterfly 3000 is the eighteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 11 June 2021. It is the band's first album not released on Flightless Records, instead being released on the band's own label KGLW. It is their second studio LP of 2021, following February's L.W.. The album was described as "melodic" and "psychedelic" upon its initial announcement on 10 May, along with the words "cross-eyed autostereogram", in reference to the album art.
Made in Timeland is the nineteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 5 March 2022 on Flightless in Australia, and ATO in the U.S. Produced by Stu Mackenzie, the album consists of two fifteen-minute-long tracks, each taking one side of the record.
Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava is the 21st studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 7 October 2022 on KGLW.
Changes is the 23rd studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 28 October 2022. It is the third album the band released during October 2022 and fifth and final album to be released overall during the year.
PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation is the 24th studio album by Australian rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 16 June 2023.
The Silver Cord is the 25th studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 27 October 2023 on KGLW. Produced by band leader Stu Mackenzie, the project is made up of two distinct albums with extended or shortened versions of the same tracks: one lasting 28 minutes, the other 88 minutes.
While their 2017 progressive metal album Murder of the Universe suffered from unnecessary content,