#KingGizzardLizardWizard celebrates the prolific Australian psych-rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, whose legendary 2017 release of five full albums in one year and genre-hopping experimentation made them cult heroes of modern psychedelic music.
The Five-Album Year (2017)
In 2017, King Gizzard announced they would release five albums—and delivered: Flying Microtonal Banana (microtonal tuning experiments), Murder of the Universe (spoken-word narrative metal), Sketches of Brunswick East (jazz-infused collaboration), Polygondwanaland (progressive rock epic), and Gumboot Soup (genre grab-bag). This unprecedented output demonstrated their work ethic, creativity, and rejection of industry norms. They released Polygondwanaland as public domain, allowing fans to press vinyl themselves. This prolific era gained them international attention and Reddit worship.
Musical Diversity
King Gizzard refused genre constraints. They explored thrash metal (Infest the Rats’ Nest 2019), Turkish psychedelia (Flying Microtonal Banana 2017), prog-rock (Polygondwanaland 2017), synth-pop (Butterfly 3000 2021), and jam-band improvisation. Their live shows featured two drummers and extended improvisations. Albums like I’m in Your Mind Fuzz (2014) and Nonagon Infinity (2016)—an album designed to loop infinitely—showcased their conceptual ambitions.
Cult Following
King Gizzard built a devoted fan community through constant touring, generous album releases, and engagement with fans. Their Reddit community dissected microtonal theory and tracked every pressing variant. The hashtag documented new album announcements, tour bootlegs, and appreciation for their refusal to repeat themselves. They proved prolific output and experimental risk-taking could coexist with commercial viability.