INFEST THE RATS' NEST

I really didn't expect to like this album and was a bit nervous for the band after the somewhat disappointing Fishing for Fishies. I had heard the singles and was not into it at all. I decided to purchase the album and upon first playback, I actually really enjoyed it. With each subsequent listen that enjoyment only increased. The great thing about this album is that despite being a dramatic departure from everything else they've done, it still sounds like a King Gizzard record. If I have to be critical, I can say sometimes the songs can sound a bit similar to each other. With that said, its an entertaining record front to back.

With this album King Gizzard takes some of the unique aspects of their sound seen on previous albums, and put a layer of thrash metal on top of it. Along with this, some songs explore the stoner/doom metal genre. Infest the Rats Nest succeeds in actually being heavy and not just being loud like a lot of modern metal falls victim to. Also on this album, the band introduces the double kick and the vocals are much more harsh sounding. Just based on listening, its clear this is a somewhat loose concept album. What I can gather is that the earth has become somewhat uninhabitable due to pollution and climate change and the rich and wealthy are retreating to an apparently now terraformed mars while the poor are doomed to die on earth. Eventually the poor folks decide to try going to Venus and upon arrival, they instantly engulf into flames on the surface of the planet.

Planet B starts things off right out the gate with an intensity that is kept up throughout the album. The lyrics on this album and song particularly really draw me in and tell a fun story that really keeps my interest throughout. The second track Mars For The Rich is my favorite by a slim margin and is damn near impossible not so sing along to. Towards the end of the song there is a really sweet bass and drum breakdown section that leads to the main riff kicking back in and it really hits well. Organ Farmer follows and its another faster paced intense song that unfortunately doesn't leave much of a lasting impression on me. I had to re listen to it for this review, and while i'ts definitely a lot of fun, it's not quite as memorable as most of the other songs.

Superbug is another standout track and is one of the more stoner/doom style tracks pulling some aspects of Sabbath and Sleep with its slower pace and sludgy guitars. The thing I love about this track is how it builds up and progressively gets heavier over its duration until the end where its basically just a wall of sound. Venusian 1 has a really cool doomy feel to it. You can hear the signature gizz guitar tones all over the solos of this track but by far my favorite part is the end where it has the line:

"THERE IS ONE PLANET V"

And thus the next chapter of the story starts. Perihelion is another incredible track that's probably on par with Mars for the Rich to me. The main riff is my favorite of the whole album and the chorus is another that I just cant help but head bang to. Venusian 2 is the heaviest track on the album and it really gives the feel of chaos needed for the story. It leads into Self Immolate which is another thrash track similar to Planet B and Organ Farmer and is supposed to be the moment in the story where they land and burn up on the surface of Venus. This is another track where I can say that it doesn't do anything we haven't already heard in past tracks on the album. Like Organ Farmer it is a lot of fun and you can find me singing along to the line "I have gone insan-o, I lust for volcano." But when I think of this album, its not gonna be one of the first tracks to come to mind. However, on the closing song Hell, the band manages to reach the peak of the album in the final minute. The first few minutes are more chaotic thrash similar to Venusian 2, but in the final minute the band pulls out a NASTY riff that fades in until the whole band joins creating the heaviest (and damn coolest) moment on the album.

This album is really awesome and definitely among my favorite Gizz albums. It's a nice fun listen at its short 35 minute run time and one that I frequently revisit.

4 Stars