Review by Ves on July 10, 2023.

It's been a while since I had enough focus on an album to note down my thoughts. While I am indeed scatterbrained and busy, there is a different reason for this - the new King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard album PetroDragonic Apocalypse; Or, Dawn Of Eternal Night: An Annihilation Of Planet Earth And The Beginning Of Merciless Damnation. Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? The stupidly prolific band's 24th album is their second metal effort, the first one being the excellent thrash album Infest The Rats' Nest from the summer of 2019. While fans and other people familiar with the Gizz will know that their other 22 albums are not united by genre, ranging from jazz fusion and psychedelic rock to a spaghetti western-inspired short story, others will wonder how the hell this band managed to put out 24 albums in 13 years of existence. To that, I can only say "Yes."

PetroDragonic Apocalypse has more in common with Infest The Rats' Nest than just nasty riffs and higher tempos. The lyrical concept seems to be inspired by the impending climate catastrophe, with the evacuation of the Earth on spaceships and terraforming of other planets in the Solar system from the predecessor replaced with another story of humanity and the Earth, but also with "witches and dragons and shit" as frontman Stu Mackenzie recently explained. Where PetroDragonic Apocalypse also excells is taking the stonery-thrash approach KG&LW took on Infest and pushing it further into their own little niche within metal, with a thick fuzzy crunch, odd time signatures, lengthy cuts, and more varied vocals than on their previous metal album. I especially enjoyed the backing vocals on 'Supercell', cutting through the thick riffage and Motorhead-flavour drums. Another case of nice supplementary vocals are Ambrose's raspy declarations on 'Gila Monster'.

The album was written as a result of multiple jam sessions, with most songs written in a day, the band explains. Again, this should not surprise any KGLW fans, as the six members can probably read each other's thoughts after such a long time playing together. The tempo and time signature changes just stack on top of one another perfectly, feeling both intentional and spontaneous. For example the shift from that driving 3 against 2 polyrhythm to the 11/8 outro section and solo which flows perfectly into the 11/8 and 7/8 'Dragon', whose intro riff might be my favourite of the album. Speaking of 'Dragon', it's one of the two 9+ minute songs, the other one being the closer, 'Flamethrower'. The first track, 'Motor Spirit' is also a lengthy one, with its 8 and a half minutes of stonery thrash goodness. Even with that being the case, none of these songs feels like it overstays its welcome for even a second, and the album runs for a reasonable 48 minutes. That is, of course, if you're a plebeian like me and have only listened to the digital release. The vinyl edition has an exclusive 8th track - a 14-minute spoken word cut titled 'Dawn Of Eternal Night' - which tells the story of the Earth's demise from Gila's perspective. If you're into fantasy as much as Stu Mackenzie or myself, do not miss it.

With Infest The Rats' Nest my thrash album of 2019, it's safe to say the Gizz have followed up with another strong contender 4 years later. After the 3 album marathon last October which were all great in their own way, especially Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava, I'm happy to see the boys from Melbourne keep one-upping themselves. Can't wait for the next one and, let's be real, I probably won't have to for more than a couple of months.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Carl on April 1, 2023.

In my neurotic alphabetically ordered cd collection we find, next to Oath Of Cruelty, an Aussie band by the name of Oath Of Damnation. Why this useless piece of information, you ask? Because these reviews need some sort of introduction, that's why. Now be quiet and pay attention, because here we go.

One could easily (and lazily) shove Oath Of Damnation in between bands like Belphegor, Dargonomel and Behemoth, but that would do them a disservice in my opinion, because there's definitely more to them than that. I admit that those bands do shine through, but I also hear the influence of Atheist, early Gorguts, some stabs of Nocturnus, and the 90's output of both Death and Pestilence in the excellent riffing and guitar leads. The overall execution is spot-on, and the gruff, gravel-throated vocals, thunderous percussion and menacing guitar work are simply awesome. The most striking element of their sound is the band making room for a copious amount of symphonic keyboard ambience, adding the music with a majestic and powerful angle. It's an approach that reminds me of a less nihilistic Anorexia Nervosa, later Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and early Bal Sagoth, and I'd dare to say, even a touch of Rammstein. Combined with the powerful blackened death metal the band have on offer, Oath Of Damnation concoct a fierce mixture of both black and death metal, even managing to hint at a sound of their own. I was surprised to find out they were an Australian band, because this is a style I'd more expect from a US band, to be honest.

The production is clear as day, with every instrument having its place in the mix, and the music been given the proper massive, heavy and majestic sound, with only the percussion sounding a bit dry. Personally, I have to admit that it is perhaps just that bit too slick for my taste, but at the same time it has to be said that music as imposing as this simply has no use for any "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" type of production. As a whole this album sounds as smooth as butter, and it goes in just as supple.

This is a collection of way above average blackened death metal, graced with a solid production, as well as impressive execution and arrangements. Both frenetic energy and pounding crush go hand in hand as aggressive blast beat propelled sections are being interspersed with heavy slower parts, with the orchestration adding a grandiose angle to the whole, allowing the tracks to burrow themselves into the brain in no time. This deserves to be heard, for sure. It's way better than what Behemoth has released these last 10 or so years, in my opinion.

This is a release that could be of interest for a wide audience. Apart from the acts name-checked above, I also heard touches of Cradle Of Fith, Allegiance (SWE), Angelcorpse and Limbonic Art seep through, and Oath Of Damnation could well appeal to fans of all those already mentioned.

Great stuff, for sure!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Carl on April 1, 2023.

In my neurotic alphabetically ordered cd collection we find, next to Oath Of Cruelty, an Aussie band by the name of Oath Of Damnation. Why this useless piece of information, you ask? Because these reviews need some sort of introduction, that's why. Now be quiet and pay attention, because here we go.

One could easily (and lazily) shove Oath Of Damnation in between bands like Belphegor, Dargonomel and Behemoth, but that would do them a disservice in my opinion, because there's definitely more to them than that. I admit that those bands do shine through, but I also hear the influence of Atheist, early Gorguts, some stabs of Nocturnus, and the 90's output of both Death and Pestilence in the excellent riffing and guitar leads. The overall execution is spot-on, and the gruff, gravel-throated vocals, thunderous percussion and menacing guitar work are simply awesome. The most striking element of their sound is the band making room for a copious amount of symphonic keyboard ambience, adding the music with a majestic and powerful angle. It's an approach that reminds me of a less nihilistic Anorexia Nervosa, later Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and early Bal Sagoth, and I'd dare to say, even a touch of Rammstein. Combined with the powerful blackened death metal the band have on offer, Oath Of Damnation concoct a fierce mixture of both black and death metal, even managing to hint at a sound of their own. I was surprised to find out they were an Australian band, because this is a style I'd more expect from a US band, to be honest.

The production is clear as day, with every instrument having its place in the mix, and the music been given the proper massive, heavy and majestic sound, with only the percussion sounding a bit dry. Personally, I have to admit that it is perhaps just that bit too slick for my taste, but at the same time it has to be said that music as imposing as this simply has no use for any "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" type of production. As a whole this album sounds as smooth as butter, and it goes in just as supple.

This is a collection of way above average blackened death metal, graced with a solid production, as well as impressive execution and arrangements. Both frenetic energy and pounding crush go hand in hand as aggressive blast beat propelled sections are being interspersed with heavy slower parts, with the orchestration adding a grandiose angle to the whole, allowing the tracks to burrow themselves into the brain in no time. This deserves to be heard, for sure. It's way better than what Behemoth has released these last 10 or so years, in my opinion.

This is a release that could be of interest for a wide audience. Apart from the acts name-checked above, I also heard touches of Cradle Of Fith, Allegiance (SWE), Angelcorpse and Limbonic Art seep through, and Oath Of Damnation could well appeal to fans of all those already mentioned.

Great stuff, for sure!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10