Infest The Rats Nest Download

Story: After Self-immolating and reaching their deaths in the last song, the crew finds that they are not fully dead. They are under the surface of Venus where it is "pretty hot". They were thinking they would die after catching on fire, but they now see a thousand flies and wings and tail and spines, presumably of the demons in hell. The Anti-Christ has met them and tempted them with a purpose. After all they have experienced, including actually dying, they are obliged to carry out their purpose, and Satan points them to the Rats Nest. What the Rats Nest is, or what it represents, is not clear to me at all. My only idea is that the Rats Nest is hell, where all the "rats" go to burn for eternity. Rats represent infestation, and in this story could represent humans infesting Earth with their disease (pollution) and bringing it to its doom. All of the "rats" are dying because of Earth's demise, and hell is where they want to be. They are now Infesting the Rats Nest.

INFEST THE RATS' NEST is the band's 15th album since its formation in 2010 and takes its soundboldly into the world of thrash metal, a place only scantly hinted upon on the predominantlypsychedelic prog that has graced the previous albums. With a seemingly infinite amount ofinspirational mojo, the GIZZARD eschews the psychedelic indie rock sounds of the past and insteadturns to classic Metallica, Slayer, Exodus and Overkill for inspiration and instantly finds the bandappearing in heavy metal databases worldwide to the chagrin of metal purists who just can't acceptthese crossover acts as legit metal entities but nonetheless, INFEST THE RATS' NEST is a bona fidethrash metal album albeit with stoner garage rock tendencies chock full of guitar riffing heft anddouble kick drumming. While death metal and black metal have spiraled off into a million directions and into highlyevolved complexities, thrash metal has remained rather pure in comparison and the GIZZARD deliver atasty little interpretation of the classic thrash metal years that date back to the 80s and early90s although INFEST also finds traces of industrial metal heft a la Rammstein or White Zombie andalternative mood swings into Tool territory at moments. This new metal sound originated on thesingle "Planet B," the opening powerhouse that was a stand alone track but somehow inspired the bandinto crafting an entire album of similar sounding tunes. The biggest surprise is that this album hasbecome one of the band's most successful of all and has virtually guaranteed another strong decadeto come.Musically, INFEST THE RATS' NEST is very much a retro tribute to the great thrash bands of yore. Thesound delivered here is a mix of Overkill stomp grooves, Metallica induced palm muting techniquesfor that classic galloping sound along with guitar solos that erupt out of nowhere but there is averitable garage rock quality to this as none of these guys are exactly virtuosos so don't expect aMarty Friedman ripping solo quality or even the more sophisticated classically infused Metallicariffs. This is basic thrash by the numbers albeit exquisitely performed and catchy to the max. Allin all this will appeal to those on the fringe of the metal universe rather than those alreadydeeply indoctrinated into the long rich history of thrash metal that has remained strong for overthree decades now.While many bands want to be all things to all music appreciators, KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARDsucceeded to a certain degree while it took a big chance with INFEST THE RATS' NEST in the fact thatthere was a lot of risk of alienating fans of the psychedelic rock albums. However i would ventureto guess that one should have no fear that the band has gone Opeth in reverse by dropping its psychqualities in favor of the more bombastic metal style presented on this album. After all, on trackslike "Mars For The Rich" there are still psychedelic keyboard elements that creep into the flow ofthings and the overtly alternative feel prevents this from feeling "too" thrashy. There's even aharmonica that makes a cameo on several tracks and the bluesy rock roots of the 70s are stillstrong, just simply cranked up to 11 at various moments. This is a decent album for sure buthonestly this isn't anything to get wildly excited about either. With all the references to thrashgreats like Overkill and Metallica, i'd rather listen to their output any day, however good on theGIZZARD for breaking out of their comfort zone.3.5 rounded down social review comments | Review Permalink