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CRITIC REVIEWS
85
Overall, Murder of the Universe is an audacious, wild masterwork by a band who can never rest.
80
An intense, ingenious and utterly insane listen, 'Murder Of The Universe' is another brilliant addition to King Gizzard's already stellar and ever-expanding discography.
80
‘Murder of the Universe’ stands out because it perfects what makes the band special, rather than moving anything forward. Those tired of the joke might not be interested, but for the kind of person that religiously rewatches Black Dynamite, it’s glorious.
80
An ambitious project, King Gizzard succeed into enticing you into fully absorbing yourself into their wild, bizarre universe.
80
In true madcap Gizzard fashion, the band’s proggiest album turns out to also be their most visceral and vital. Murder of the Universe may be built from the band’s now-familiar krautpunk battle plan, but their ability to execute outsized architectural complexity at manic, warp-speed velocity is no less astonishing.
75
Through heavy magical journeys with some of the most intense and explosive rock on a record this year they make an interesting narrative out of their lengthy recording. While it definitely stands out though, the record definitely will split listeners on its overall quality as a record.
75
Murder is hellishly dark, terminally weird and subsequently very funny. Though the Gizz do not immediately seem to be thematically concerned with the dull trappings of earthly reality, the fear and doom-laden intensity characterising the record certainly seem to neatly reflect our troubled times.
74
A creepy conceptual effort that manages to incorporate despair, angst and the apocalypse into one not-so-neat-and-tidy package, it boasts a title that perfectly sums up those sentiments to a tee.
70
Maybe by the end of 2017, five records of this headache-inducing madness might be too much, but, at least for now, those reptilian magicians have got us wanting more. Bring on album number 11. Let’s embrace the weirdness.
70
The album is a nice diversion for King Gizzard, though it's not very adventurous or experimental; it's mostly fun, but a little predictable -- more like something they should have given away free instead of calling it an album and selling it. Still, anytime King Gizzard hit the studio, the result is worth hearing, and even run-of-the-mill Gizzard leaves most neo-psych freaks swimming in their sizable wake.
68
The issue with King Gizzard is not that they are poor musicians, but that they have flooded their own market, effectively diluting their product. That ‘Murder of the Universe’ plays like three lengthier songs rather than a genuine LP makes the psych rockers’ promise of five albums feel somewhat hollow.
60
Murder… is a sci-fi concept album in three parts, narrated throughout by fellow Australian Leah Senior, and whether you enjoy it or not rather depends on your tolerance levels for sci-fi concept albums featuring characters called Balrog.
60
It's mostly fun, but Murder of the Universe isn't for everyone. That's for sure.
60
Murder of the Universe might be King Gizzard's most musically and conceptually ambitious project to date, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
55
I can’t help but feel like the narrator is holding my hand through these tales instead of letting me absorb them for myself. It’s a difficult combination of rock and storytelling, and it’s possible that the album is the wrong medium for the expression.
33
Like most jam-band efforts, it was likely a lot more fun to create than it is to listen to; you can practically hear the band giggling in the background.
Easily a top 5 king gizzard album for me, maybe even top 3. It's a very fun experience, I love the spoken word sections and the themes/story of the album. It also flows together really well, maybe even better than Nonagon Infinity does.
The problem is, there isn't much replayability here unless I play it in full, which I don't see myself doing very often, unfortunately.
So... album experience 90/100, but replayability 70/100
I guess an 80 is fair? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
KG&tLW Speed Run: Part 2 of ??? - The Beast that Altered the Band
Oh thank god, I at least made it to two albums in this project. Wouldn't it have been really dumb if I said I was going to speed run King Gizzard (as much as I can) in forty eight hours and then just flat out quit after one review? Absurd. Not today.
So Murder of the Universe gets a bit of a bump from me personally because it was the actual introduction to King Gizzard for me back in 2017. This was around when I started ... read more
Jesus, God, Lord in the tittyfucking Heavens I wish this was just 3 really long tracks. This album, as i'll state, is extremely good, but JESUS CHRIST does splitting the three tracks up like this help anyone? I guess for newcomers it makes the songs easier to digest, but sooner or later they are just gonna become accustomed to these THREE LONG SONGS and just listen to the album like so. It's a damn shame that we don't have a version that is just three long songs, at lest on streaming. It would ... read more
Murder of the Universe is the second album in their 5 album run in 2017. It is also a spiritual follow-up to Eyes Like The Sky - the band's spoken word record. 7 albums later, it’s almost like the band has learned from that album's failures.
Sure, the production is better, the band are writing actual songs this time around, and the story is way more entertaining, but many of the issues from the record 4 years earlier still carry on. The narration is way too quiet and still not engaging ... read more
"Murder of the Universe" is another clever concept, as the album is divided into three separate stories that all carry the same energy and support the worldbuilding of the preposterous "Gizzverse" that this band has established. The first story is about a human merging with an altered beast, the second is about an epic battle between two God-like identities, and the third is about a robot who aspires to experience vomiting then death. The third narrative in particular ... read more
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Track List
Disc 1
| 1 | A New World 0:57 | 81 |
| 2 | Altered Beast I 2:23 | 91 |
| 3 | Alter Me I 0:45 | 87 |
| 4 | Altered Beast II 4:28 | 87 |
| 5 | Alter Me II 1:25 | 82 |
| 6 | Altered Beast III 2:14 | 87 |
| 7 | Alter Me III 1:26 | 82 |
| 8 | Altered Beast IV 5:10 | 82 |
| 9 | Life / Death 0:59 | 74 |
Disc 2
| 1 | Some Context 0:16 | 60 |
| 2 | The Reticent Raconteur 1:05 | 77 |
| 3 | The Lord of Lightning 5:07 | 89 |
| 4 | The Balrog 4:29 | 86 |
| 5 | The Floating Fire 1:54 | 84 |
| 6 | The Acrid Corpse 1:00 | 83 |
Disc 3
| 1 | Welcome to an Altered Future 0:55 | 79 |
| 2 | Digital Black 2:46 | 94 |
| 3 | Han-Tyumi, The Confused Cyborg 2:21 | 80 |
| 4 | Soy-Protein Munt Machine 0:30 | 70 |
| 5 | Vomit Coffin 2:19 | 85 |
| 6 | Murder of the Universe 4:09 | 85 |
Total Length: 46 minutes
Year End Lists
| #24 | / | Rough Trade |
| #27 | / | Louder Than War |
| #90 | / | The Quietus |
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Added on: April 10, 2017