At this point, it seems as if King Gizz have a dartboard of genres that they use to blindly decide what their next musical venture will be. Ushering on from similar stylings in their tenure such as ‘Nonagon Infinity’ and ‘The Great Chain of Being,’ ‘Infest the Rats Nest’ is their first album that is well and truly a mix between Speed and Doom Metal and it’s an absolutely doozy (just wait for the ARIA controversy).
‘Planet B’ kicks off with Motorhead-esque pounding double kicks and shredding 80’s metal-inspired riffs. With Stu Mackenzie toying with his vocal ability to provide a much more intense growling pitch; it isn’t until the 2-minute mark that the uninitiated would even realise that the song is by Gizz.
‘Mars For The Rich’ has a truly enigmatic bassline that it feels impossible to not vibe with. ‘Superbug’ is the highlight for me with its slow ominous riff lending a nod to Sleep’s style of doom/sludge. Focusing on the ecological disparity of the world and leading into the tale of a group of banished Earthlings venturing to Venus for colonisation, ‘Infest the Rats Nest’ truly is one of Mackenzies most impressive lyrical experimentation yet. ‘Perihelion’ will easily become a crowd favourite with its bouncy chorus making me want to mosh in my living room.
On top of just being a truly rad album and furthering expanding their spectrum of sounds, I think the most impressive aspect of Infest The Rats Nest is that it was recorded as a three-piece. Based on the overall finished product you would never have guessed it to be the case.
5/5
Flightless and ATO Records
Reviewed by Alex Callan
