6/10

Here we are once again reviewing a new record from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard for the second time this year. The band have already set themselves a target to release five albums in 2017, and so far they seem to be fairly on schedule to achieve it. Yet unlike their previous record 'Flying Microtonal Banana', which delivered a good romp on such a quick turnaround, 'Murder Of The Universe' is a sprawling 21-track epic that brings the forgotten art of the concept record roaring back to the 21st century.

Divided into three parts, each dubbed 'The Tale Of Altered Beast', 'The Lord Of Lightning Vs. Balrog', and 'Han-Tyumi & The Murder Of The Universe', the album uses spoken-word narration to tell its individual tales. All the while, the band give us one of their most energetic performances to date as they work their way through the turbulent story-based landscape they have set out for themselves, usually resorting to a mess of crashing drums or sprawling harmonies in order to deliver the imagery they are looking for.

In all, 'Murder Of The Universe' does seem a tad overdone, even for the likes of King Gizzard. Its lightening pace and frantic disposition makes it a very exhausting listen and can sometimes sound overbearing. Still if you were looking for a run-of-the-mill psych-rock release, you were probably looking in the wrong place anyway.