King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats' Nest

Infest The Rats' Nest is King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at full thrash-metal throttle, a 2019 blast of eco-doom that sent the Melbourne band's restless genre-hopping straight into the mosh pit.

The album was made by a stripped-back trio of Stu Mackenzie, Joey Walker and Michael Cavanagh, a deliberate break from the band's usual sprawl of guitars and drummers. Arriving the same year as the boogie-rock of Fishing for Fishies, it felt like a swerve even by Gizzard standards, and it opened a door to the heavier material they have kept returning to ever since.

The first half is a grim tour of a planet in collapse. Planet B lays out the premise over galloping riffs and relentless double kick, Mars for the Rich imagines the wealthy escaping to another world and leaving everyone else behind, and Superbug slows everything to a sludgy, menacing crawl. The second half heads into space for a tale of exile on Venus, with Self-Immolate tearing along at a breakneck pace.

For all its bleak subject matter, it is a riotous and surprisingly catchy listen, as much fun to shout along to as it is sobering on paper. For metal fans who have never touched one of the band's microtonal records, it is the easiest way into the Gizzverse.