King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are back just in time for thrash girl summer – and they did not disappoint with their first album of the year. PetroDragonic Apocalypse or Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation, or PetroDragonic Apocalypse for short, is another concept album from the boys from Melbourne. PetroDragonic Apocalypse returns to a sound that fans of the band have heard from them before — but it also goes hard enough to attract newer fans who have no clue about them.
Following in the footsteps of 2019’s Infest the Rats Nest, PetroDragonic Apocalypse has a similar sound as well as concept. This time around, the concept for the album focuses on humans who have ignored the environmental crises happening and turned to witchcraft as a means to solve it. Instead, they release a dragon who brings about the end of the world. A fitting theme for the current environmental state we’re in. The metal sound works perfectly for this concept; in order to tell a story with such harsh consequences, you need a soundtrack that adds, instead of taking away from it.
PetroDragonic Apocalypse only has seven songs, but it works in its favor. Multiple songs are close to the ten-minute mark, which shows how the band’s songwriting, creation, and development have improved. The evolution from their earlier albums is clearly heard from the first to the last song. The metal sound isn’t new, but the sound of guitar riffs absolutely overwhelms you in the best way possible from the get-go.
“Motor Spirit” is a worthy opener for the album simply because of how wild the vocals are. Five different members of the band have contribute vocals for the song and while it’s hard to parse which member sings what part, it works in a way that so few bands manage to get right with only two members. On top of that, the guitar is the shining star of the song. The heavy-hitting riffs leave no room for listeners to consider tuning out for even a second.
“Dragon” might be the penultimate song on the album but is just as mind-blowing as the other songs on the album. The lyrics alone sound like they’re straight out of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, sounding like you’re being put under a spell as you listen to the song. Meanwhile, “Flamethrower” is the closer of the album and has more of a synth sound added to it. Just like the song before, the lyrics force you to listen closely and make you picture the dragon itself torching the earth to the ground.
As King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s 24th album, I think PetroDragonic Apocalypse is solid. It’s a heavier sound that I didn’t expect the band to return to after so long, but one that I definitely missed. It’s the perfect soundtrack to listen to during the summer if I say so myself. I know I’ll be listening to it while contemplating ways to save the Earth without using witchcraft.
Want more King Gizzard on IBD? Their 2022 album Ice, Death, Planets, Mushrooms, and Lava made the honorable mentions of our best albums of 2022 list. You can read the rest of that list here.
Album artwork courtesy of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
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Rating - 8/10
8/10
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