On Thursday, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard gave fans a preview of their upcoming Live in San Francisco ’16 release with a video of “Evil Death Roll”. The live 13-track, double album is set to arrive on November 20th via ATO Records along with a full concert film.
Coming in as the band’s second official live release of 2020, behind April’s Chunky Shrapnel, it helps pad the stats on what has been a—comparatively—light year for the Australian-bred psych rockers. This year saw no studio releases from the group that usually puts out multiple a year, with King Gizzard largely exploring their archives with live releases—many of which the band used as fundraising initiatives for various causes.
In this black-and-white clip shot at The Independent, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard come in hot straight out of the gate with the song’s pounding rhythm. With Stu Mackenzie jumping around like a madman from the very start, one wonders how they can keep this up for the whole song—let alone an entire concert.
The answer comes with an instrumental breakdown in the middle of the tune, where the band is able to catch its breath and slow things down a bit. Meanwhile, repeated wah wah pedal-infused phrasings coming from somewhere in the trio of guitars featuring Joey Walker and Cook Craig in addition to Mackenzie. The style shifts around during the instrumental portion, as Walker’s harmonic-led lead brings the drums down and eventually to a full stop. As drummer Michael Cavanagh gently revives the rhythm, it abruptly turns into a fever pitch as the band comes back in at full velocity, and before you know it Stu is holding his guitar up to the mic to create hectic feedback. In short, this performance is raw energy for 7:31 minutes straight.
Watch King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard perform “Evil Death Roll” at The Independent back in 2016. Pre-order Live in San Francisco ’16 on CD or vinyl here, and pre-order the film through Vimeo.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “Evil Death Roll” (Live)
[Video: King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard]