King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava M/NM

Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava is a sprawling, psychedelic odyssey from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on October 7, 2022. It’s the band’s 21st studio album and one of their most collaborative efforts to date, born from a week of improvisational jam sessions where each day was guided only by a tempo, a key, and a title.

The album’s seven tracks correspond to the seven Greek musical modes—Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian—with each song exploring one mode both musically and thematically. The title itself is a mnemonic device: each word represents a mode in order, with “Ice” for Ionian, “Death” for Dorian, and so on.

Sonically, it’s a kaleidoscope of jazz fusion, progressive rock, and jam-band experimentation. Tracks like “Ice V” and “Iron Lung” stretch past the ten-minute mark, weaving in saxophones, flutes, layered percussion, and shifting time signatures. “Hell’s Itch” is a 13-minute fever dream of groove and chaos, while “Gliese 710” closes the album with cosmic dread and apocalyptic imagery.

Lyrically, the album is a geek-out on earth sciences, existential musings, and surrealist poetry. It’s dense, playful, and often cryptic—like a psychedelic textbook set to music. The band’s process involved recording hours of jams, then sculpting them into songs with overdubs and group-written lyrics.

Critics hailed it as one of the band’s most ambitious and rewarding releases, earning an 84/100 on Metacritic and winning Best Rock Album at the 2023 ARIA Awards. It’s not just an album—it’s a sonic experiment, a musical map of modes, and a testament to King Gizzard’s relentless creativity.