Rapid Fire Reviews: Not Quite "Metal" Metal With Uniform/Boris, Godflesh, Kind Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

PetroDragonic Apocalypse - King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard

For a while, I was a BIG King Gizz fan. The group managed to genuinely re-invent themselves with each new project and do such in such an impressively short time. I'm In Your Mind Fuzz, Paper Mache Dream Balloon, Nonagon Infinity, Murder Of The Universe, and Infest The Rats Nest are all still favorites of mine. But starting in 2020, something changed with the band. My first issue was their continued indulgence in microtonal desert rock, which might be their least compelling sound ever and made for some of their weakest records. But even once they left that phase and began to return to other styles from their past I just didn't feel the same connection to their new work as I used to. This came to a head when four new albums last year, all of which I felt similarly disengaged with. It was the first time since I started this blog that they had released new studio albums that I just didn't cover in any capacity, because I didn't have anything to say. Now on this ridiculously titled new project the band is making a return, in some sense, to the thrash metal of Infest The Rats Nest, one of their best works. The album also deals in apocalyptic themes from various levels of groundedness. While those themes can be interesting in particular moments, it's rare that they really and truly elevate it. 

My first issue with the project is its sonic cohesion taken to far too extreme a conclusion. Even after repeated listens I'm not sure I could pick out each individual song here. The fast but frenetic pacing and identically distorted riffs and building sequences start to feel VERY familiar. That's why the record's most unique points are often highlights. Supercell allows itself the dignity of a chorus that is just a bit silly and while I wouldn't normally love that, the album benefits greatly from that exhale. That track also leads into the grinding Converge whose vocal versatility is even more of a highlight. Unfortunately that streak is ended by what's easily the most monotonous, song on the record, Witchcraft. I wasn't crazy about Gila Monster as a single which I caught some flak for but I completely stand by it. Whether it's the Corey Feldman ass vocals on the chorus or the obnoxious repetition there isn't much I like about this song at all. So the four shorter songs in the middle are a very mixed bag but they're flanked by three longer songs.

Motor Spirit is a very okay start to the record. While I would argue it's too indulgent it certainly isn't the worst thing on the album it just kind of starts to blend it quickly into its runtime. Thankfully Dragon is a big improvement with some of my favorite guitar work on the album and a composition that actually lives up to every second of its long runtime. Flamethrower is an interesting closer which has a decent first half and takes a major chunk out of the middle of the track for a proggy instrumental interlude. But even saying proggy may be giving it too much credit because it really doesn't go anywhere for a WHILE. It ends the entire album off with a surprise splash of wandering psychedelic flavor that I like a lot even if the journey getting there can feel a bit slow. This album is fine. Much like all the material the band released last year it's an extremely mixed bag. While sometimes I've had difficulty identifying what is missing with the last few years of Gizz music, this one is extremely clear. All the spontaneity of Infest The Rats Nest seems to have evaporated on this album. While these compositions do wander, it never feels exciting as much as it feels like filling time. I'll continue waiting on a return from this band that feels like it comes close to my expectations of their heyday. 5.5/10

PURGE - Godflesh

While Godflesh has been away for the past few years Justin Broadrick has stayed busy. I've covered Jesu pretty extensively since then and I reviewed the long-awaited new Pale Sketcher album last year. But he's returning to Godflesh for a 9th album and third since reforming. While I thought the first two were interesting, I wasn't head over heels for either of them. So going into this record I was at least hoping that it would be my favorite Godflesh release in a long time. 

The album claims to be a continuation of the sophomore Godflesh album Pure, and while I can definitely see that in certain moments it also just feels like more of a return to the brash and pummeling intensity of the group at their best. My issue is that while I can feel that ambition in the intensity of these songs, it doesn't always translate into the sound. The first time it really clicks for me is on the absolutely ear-piercing guitars on LAND LORD which sound even better backed by the fuzzed-out thudding sequenced drums. While LAZARUS LEPER is one of the least interesting tracks on the album things turn around in a hurry with PERMISSION which comes out of the gate swinging and never really lets up. THE FATHER reminds me of some cuts I enjoyed from the most recent Jesu project Terminus, albeit with a less deliberately cloudy mix. I get similar vibes off of the closing track YOU ARE THE JUDGE THE JURY AND THE EXECUTIONER which could easily slip into the Jesu discography better than anything else here. While I don't love this album I certainly like more of it than I don't. Unfortunately, I think it also contains songs I dislike more than anything on the previous two Godflesh projects but I also don't want to penalize Justin for trying to continue to push his sound into new realms. The project didn't blow me away, but I'm glad I gave it a chance and got to cover it here. 6/10

Bright New Disease - Boris/Uniform

While I am not EXTENSIVELY familiar with either of these bands, I am familiar with both. That's why I was excited to see how Boris' rumbling heavy rock and roll would mesh with Uniform's more extreme stylings. Not that I thought either band wasn't up to the task, I just assumed they would take one side rather than meeting in the middle Turns out that this album is far more of a tailspin than I anticipated and even settling down on what the record's signature sound is makes for a nearly impossible task. This album is absolutely unafraid to jump between sonic palettes constantly and that freneticism makes particular runs on the album particularly thrilling. The consecutive punches starting with the second half of You Are The Beginning and then running through Weaponized Grief and No leaves me sweating afterward, in a good way. At the midpoint of the record, it starts to shift into the form of something more brooding and seething. Even though I haven't come around quite as much on these moments I do appreciate some of the much more experimental passages and the relief it can deliver after the album's breakneck start. There are moments in the second half I like with the pure anguish of closing track and single Not Surprised coming to mind as a great way to end the album off. But as a general rule if you split the album into three parts each one is weaker than the one that precedes it. Still though fans of either band or just anyone who likes their rock music on the heavier side should definitely give the opening leg of this album a try as it's very impressive. Don't let the fact that the momentum is maintained throughout dissuade you. 6/10