King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Preview ‘Phantom Island’ LP With New Single, ‘Deadstick’

Just a week after revealing that their forthcoming album will be taking an orchestral lean, prolific Australian collective King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have officially detailed their 27th album.

Set for release on June 13 via the band’s own (p)doom Records, new album Phantom Island is slated to be a stylistic change for the genre-defying rockers, with the ten-track album seeing them utilize orchestral arrangements for the first time.

Inspired by a meeting with members of Los Angeles Philharmonic while backstage at the Hollywood Bowl in June 2023, the sessions for King Gizzard’s 2024 album Flight b741 yielded an additional batch of tracks that needed “more time and space and thought” and additional “energy and colour,” guitarist and vocalist Stu Mackenzie claimed. 

With the LA Philharmonic in mind, Mackenzie reached out to friend, British historical keyboardist, conductor and arranger Chad Kelly, who brings a “wealth of musical awareness to his chameleon-like arrangements,” according to Mackenzie. “We come from such different worlds – he plays Mozart and Bach and uses the same harpsichords they did, and tunes them the exact same way. But he’s obsessed with microtonal music, too, and all this nerdy stuff like me.”

Kelly’s influence can be seen in lead single “Deadstick,” which pairs elaborate orchestrations and funky musicianship with a sprawling clip directed by Guy Tyzack. 

King Gizzard formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 and swiftly became one of the country’s most prolific groups, with both 2017 and 2022 seeing the band release five albums within the span of a year.

Despite their extensive output, the band have not yet topped the charts in their homeland (though they would hit No. 2 on four separate occasions). In the U.S., the band peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard 200 with 2019’s Infest the Rats’ Nest, while their voracious fanbase has also seen the majority of their releases chart on the Top Album Sales chart.

In January, King Gizzard were also listed on the lineup for the 2025 edition of Bonnaroo, performing three sets over three days as part of the inaugural ‘Roo Residency. This Residency coincides with the release of Phantom Island on June 13, and will be followed by a series of U.S. tour dates where the band will be joined by a different 29-piece orchestra in each city. 

Their U.S. run will also feature a standalone “Rock ‘n Roll Show” in New York on Aug. 2, and will wrap in Colorado later that month with the band’s own three-day Field of Vision festival.

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard 2025 U.S. Tour Dates

June 13-15 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, TN
July 28 – TD Pavilion At The Mann, Philadelphia, PA (w/ Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia)
July 30 – Westville Music Bowl, New Haven, CT (w/ Orchestra of St. Luke’s)
Aug. 1 – Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, NY (w/ Orchestra of St. Luke’s)
Aug. 2 – Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, NY
Aug. 4 – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD (w/ National Symphony Orchestra)
Aug. 6 – Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL (w/ Chicago Philharmonic)
Aug. 8 – Ford Amphitheater, Colorado Springs, CO (w/ Colorado Symphony)
Aug. 10 – Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA (w/ Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Aug. 11 – The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, San Diego, CA (w/ San Diego Symphony Orchestra)
Aug. 15-17 – Field of Vision at Meadow Creek, Buena Vista, CO