King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are an Australian group from Melbourne, active since 2010. The band is also abbreviated as KGLW. Its line-up includes Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, Michael Cavanagh and Eric Moore. Their music is associated with garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, boogie rock, experimental rock, hard rock, heavy psych and jazz rock.

Formation and early line-up

The members grow up in the Deniliquin, Melbourne and Geelong regions of Australia. Before the band forms, Mackenzie and Craig play together in Revolver & Sun, while Kenny-Smith and Lucas Skinner perform in Sambrose Automobile. Mackenzie, Skinner and Cavanagh are also members of The Houses, and some later King Gizzard material originates in this period. Mackenzie, Eric Moore and Walker meet while studying the music industry at RMIT University. The line-up is initially fluid before stabilising with Mackenzie, Walker, Moore, Kenny-Smith, Cavanagh, Craig and Harwood, with Kenny-Smith joining in 2011. According to Mackenzie, the band name is chosen for its deliberately absurd character.

Recordings and releases

Jason Galea creates the artwork for all of the band’s studio albums and most of their music videos. Their first releases are the self-issued singles “Sleep / Summer!” and “Hey There / Ants & Bats” in 2010. In 2011 they release the Anglesea EP, followed by the garage rock EP Willoughby’s Beach. Their debut studio album, 12 Bar Bruise, appears in 2012 and is self-recorded using unconventional techniques.

In 2013 they release Eyes Like the Sky, a spoken-word concept album narrated by Broderick Smith and written with Mackenzie, and Float Along - Fill Your Lungs, which moves towards psychedelic and folk-influenced music. In 2014 they issue Oddments and I’m in Your Mind Fuzz, the latter introducing more structured songwriting and themes of fantasy and mind control. In 2015 they launch the Australian festival Gizzfest, and release Quarters!, a record made up of four equal-length tracks, and the acoustic album Paper Mâché Dream Balloon.

Nonagon Infinity follows in 2016. Built as a continuous loop, it wins the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album and brings the band wider recognition. In 2017 the group release five studio albums: Flying Microtonal Banana, Murder of the Universe, Sketches of Brunswick East with Mild High Club, Polygondwanaland and Gumboot Soup. Flying Microtonal Banana begins a series of microtonal recordings using custom instruments. Polygondwanaland is made available free of charge, with fans and independent labels encouraged to produce their own editions.

Later work

After focusing on touring in 2018, the band release Fishing for Fishies and the thrash metal album Infest the Rats’ Nest in 2019. The latter is nominated for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album at the ARIA Music Awards. During 2020, after tours are postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, they release the concert film Chunky Shrapnel and a live album of the same name, along with several live recordings on Bandcamp, with proceeds supporting charitable causes.

Eric Moore leaves the group in August 2020 to focus on managing Flightless Records. Later that year the band release K.G., the second album in their microtonal series, followed by L.W. in 2021 and Butterfly 3000, which centres on modular synthesiser loops. In 2022 they issue Made in Timeland, Omnium Gatherum, and three October albums: Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, Laminated Denim and Changes. During this period, Mackenzie temporarily returns to Australia for treatment related to Crohn’s disease.

In 2023 the group release the live collection Live at Red Rocks ’22, documenting performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, followed by PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation and The Silver Cord, which are conceived as complementary works. They also make archival releases available on streaming services under the name Bootleg Gizzard.

Labels and later activity

In 2024 the band launch their own label, p(doom), whose first release is Ill Times, a collaboration between Kenny-Smith and Jay Watson. Their twenty-sixth studio album, Flight b741, is also released that year. In 2025 they release Phantom Island, the twenty-seventh studio album, and tour with a mix of rock performances and orchestral concerts conducted by Sarah Hicks, with local orchestras appearing in each city. They also contribute material to charity compilations, license songs for the video game Ultrakill, and issue additional tours with rock, orchestral and electronic-oriented performances.

In July 2025 the band remove their catalogue from Spotify, citing objections to the business practices of chief executive Daniel Ek and his investments. They adopt a pay-what-you-want pricing model for their music on Bandcamp and release additional volumes in their demo series. The Phantom Island Tour concludes in December 2025, and the group announce a touring hiatus until August 2026, when they are scheduled to return for Field of Vision II. In March 2026, they share footage from a studio session with Billy Strings, prompting speculation about future projects.

Style and themes

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are known for an extensive discography, genre experimentation and energetic live performances. Across their work they explore garage rock, psychedelic rock, folk, jazz fusion, progressive rock, heavy metal, synth-pop and electronic music. Their lyrics often address environmental themes, and listeners use the term “Gizzverse” for recurring connections and motifs across their releases.

The band release music on KGLW, p(doom) Records and Flightless.