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Prolific Australian collective King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have officially announced the release of their forthcoming album, Phantom Island.
While the new record – the group’s 27th – has been officially detailed by the band, they’re yet to unveil a specific release date. However, while discussing the new ten-track LP, the band noted that on Tuesday (April 15), physical pre-orders will be made available via their own own (p)doom Records, alongside the release of the music video to new track “Deadstick,” and an AMA (‘Ask me anything’) thread on Reddit.
According to a social media post announcing the record, the new project has been in the works for two years, and features the band backed by an orchestra. “HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!!!” wrote vocalist and guitarist Stu Mackenzie. “A lot of love and time and energy and patience and growth went into this one. Can’t wait to grow wings and fly with all of you.”
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Previously, King Gizzard had unveiled the album’s title track in October, giving fans a taste of what to expect from their next release. “So our last album was 10 songs. Except we recorded 20 in that session. Here’s a track from the other set of 10,” Mackenzie explained. “It’s even more maxxed out than the last one. There’s a whole fuckin’ orchestra on there. Hahahahahah!
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“But for real, what a joy to be alive. A privilege to be making music for a living and to be here still after all these years. If you’ve been listening to Gizz for a long time, thank you. We love you so much. If you’re just tuning in, welcome to the cult.”
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.
Globetrotting rockers Amyl and the Sniffers, acclaimed producer Dom Dolla, and Indigenous hip-hop supergroup 3% were all among the winners on Wednesday night (April 9) at the 2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards.
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Handed out at the Ivy in Sydney, the awards were hosted by radio host and passionate Australian music lover Nic Kelly, with some of the country’s most prominent and revered names in contention at this year’s event.
Amyl and the Sniffers led the pack, taking home two awards on the night. In the best LP/EP category, their third studio album Cartoon Darkness beat out the likes of RÜFÜS DU SOL, Amy Shark, Missy Higgins, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, while their win as best live act saw them triumph over Tones and I, Parkway Drive, Confidence Man, and Dom Dolla.
While Dolla couldn’t attend the awards physically, he didn’t go home empty-handed. Despite three nominations, he only emerged victorious in one category, with the Rolling Stone global award seeing him beat out a talented range of nominees, including Kylie Minogue, Empire of the Sun, and Amyl and the Sniffers.
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“I’m absolutely shattered I can’t be there tonight to accept the Global Award, but very fitting considering the title of the award that I’m touring in America,” said Dolla, who will also headline the opening night of Bonnaroo alongside Luke Combs this June. “Thank you so much for considering me and for the award!”
Meanwhile, Indigenous Australian artists also took out two major categories at the event. For best single, Gamilaraay woman, musician and creator, Thelma Plum was recognized for her 2024 track “Freckles,” while best new artist was awarded to 3%, a hip-hop supergroup comprising Angus Field, Nooky and Dallas Woods. Their debut album, Kill the Dead, had previously won best hip-hop/rap release at the 2024 ARIA Awards.
For the readers’ choice category, Keli Holiday (who is also known as Adam Hyde from ARIA Award-winning electronic duo Peking Duk) took out the honor, with the hotly-contested category seeing him triumph over names such as Pond, Gut Health, SPEED, Delta Goodrem, and Crowded House, who were the recipients of 2024’s ‘Icon’ award.
This year, it was ICEHOUSE who were given ‘Icon’ status, with frontman Iva Davies on hand to share an acceptance speech.
“Thank you very much indeed, an amazing thanks to Rolling Stone, incredibly unexpected, I have to say,” Davies said in a speech. “I’ll name one person here tonight, the co-founder of Flowers and Icehouse bass player, Keith Walsh. Also, all the former members of the crew, and a special shout out to the man who put this all together, our production manager who has been working with us since 1986 – Mr Larry Ponting. Thanks for having us here.”
Icehouse first formed in Sydney as Flowers in 1977, issuing their debut album Icehouse in 1980 before adopting the name from then on. The record hit No. 4 in Australia, and No. 82 on the Billboard 200, while fifth album – 1987’s Man of Colours – hit the top of Australian charts and peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200. That record also boasted some of the group’s biggest internationally-successful singles, with “Electric Blue” and “Crazy” hitting No. 7 and 14 on the Hot 100, respectively.
In 2006, the group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, while 1982 single “Great Southern Land” has often been considered an unofficial national anthem by Australian music lovers.
“There was a time when there was a band doing the rounds that were described as the highest earning unsigned act in the country, and they were called Flowers,” said presenter Richard Wilkins as he introduced the award. “We couldn’t help ourselves but fall in love with them, and all that changed when Flowers became ICEHOUSE and they went on to have massive hits all over the world. They are one of the greatest bands ever to come out of this great southern land.”
Rolling Stone AU/NZ is published by Vinyl Media, part of The Vinyl Group. “Tonight was a fantastic celebration of Australian music and the remarkable artists this country produces,” said editor-in-chief Neil Griffiths.
“All our nominees have been doing their bit to showcase the strength of Australian music on a global stage, and this was our opportunity to give something back.”
The fifth annual awards welcomed multiple new and returning sponsors this year, with headline partner American Apparel on board alongside Shure and JMC Academy.
2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards Winners
Rolling Stone Icon Award
ICEHOUSE (WINNER)
Best Single
Thelma Plum – ‘Freckles’ (WINNER)Amyl and the Sniffers – “U Should Not Be Doing That”Empire of the Sun – “Changes”Dom Dolla – “girl$”CYRIL – “Stumblin’ in”Baker Boy – “KING”
Best New Artist
3% (WINNER)CYRILBecca HatchMia WrayGut Health9lives
Best LP/EP
Amyl and the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness (WINNER)RÜFÜS DU SOL – Inhale/ExhaleLime Cordiale – Enough of the Sweet TalkMissy Higgins – The Second ActAmy Shark – Sunday SadnessNick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild God
Best Live Act
Amyl and the Sniffers (WINNER)Confidence ManTones and IDom DollaParkway DriveTeen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Readers’ Choice
Keli Holiday (WINNER)Radio Free AliceThelma PlumSPEEDPondGut HealthG FlipThe RionsDelta GoodremCrowded House
Rolling Stone Global Award
Dom Dolla (WINNER)Kylie MinogueAmyl and the SniffersConfidence ManNick Cave and the Bad SeedsEmpire of the Sun
Weezer bassist Scott Shriner’s wife Jillian Shriner, a.k.a. Jillian Lauren, was involved in a police shoot-out after an unrelated Los Angeles car chase, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Wednesday (April 9). A preliminary LAPD statement indicated that around 3:25 p.m. PT Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol requested backup for a hit-and-run incident, in which three […]
Mumford & Sons return to the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the band’s first album in over six years, Rushmere, debuts at No. 3 on the April 12-dated list. It’s the sixth top 10-charting effort for the group overall.
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The album also takes a bow in the top 10 on Top Alternative Albums (No. 2), Top Rock Albums (No. 2), Americana/Folk Albums (No. 2), Independent Albums (No. 2), Top Rock & Alternative Albums (No. 3), Vinyl Albums (No. 3) and Indie Store Album Sales (No. 5).
Elsewhere in the top 10 on the Top Album Sales chart, Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine reenters atop the list following its Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead expanded reissue, while the latest efforts from Lucy Dacus, Alison Krauss + Union Station and NAV all arrive in the region.
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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.
Rushmere launches with 20,500 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending April 3, according to Luminate. Vinyl accounts for nearly half of that sum. The set’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including a signed version), four CD variants (including two signed versions), a cassette tape and a standard digital download.
Atop the chart, Ariana Grande’s 2024 album Eternal Sunshine reenters at No. 1 with 61,000 sold (up 5,338%). Its sales surge was caused by the release of its Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead expanded reissue with six previously unreleased songs. (All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes under the title Eternal Sunshine.)
Sales of Eternal Sunshine were aided by its availability in a variety of permutations released for the Brighter Days Ahead launch. The original Eternal Sunshine album had 13 tracks, and the core Brighter Days Ahead album added six cuts: one extended version of the album-opening “Inro (End of the World)” and five new songs.
Grande’s webstore sold three exclusive variants of the download edition of the album: the 19-track edition, a version with the 19 tracks plus instrumentals of the same cuts, and another version with the 19 tracks and a cappella renditions of each cut (all with alternative cover artwork). Grande also released two vinyl variants and six CD editions of the reissue (some signed by the artist), containing the 19 tracks plus the three bonus tracks originally found on the album’s “slightly deluxe” reissues last year. Vinyl accounted for 26,000 of the set’s sales for the week – it reenters at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.
Lucy Dacus nabs her first top 10 on Top Album Sales, and with her largest sales week yet, as Forever Is a Feeling bows at No. 2 with 24,000 sold. Sales of the project were helped by its availability across nine vinyl variants (some signed), three CD variants (including a signed edition), a cassette tape and a standard download album. (Vinyl accounted for 17,500 of the album’s first-week sales. It debuts at No. 2 on the Vinyl Albums chart.)
Lady Gaga’s former leader MAYHEM falls 2-4 on Top Album Sales (nearly 10,500; down 22%), Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping GNX dips 4-5 (almost 9,500; down 18%) and Sabrina Carpenter’s former No. 1 Short n’ Sweet rises 7-6 (just over 9,000; down 4%).
Alison Krauss and Union Station’s Arcadia – the first album from Krauss and Union Station in 14 years – debuts at No. 7 with nearly 9,000 sold. Krauss and Union Station last released a new studio project with Paper Airplane in 2011. The new set was issued across three vinyl variants, three CD variants (including a signed edition) and a standard download album.
NAV’s OMW2 Rexdale rounds out the debuts in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, as it enters at No. 8 with nearly 7,500 sold. It was available to purchase on vinyl, two CD variants (including a signed edition), four deluxe boxed sets (containing a copy of the standard CD and branded clothing), a standard download album, and eight artist webstore-exclusive variants of the download album (each with bonus tracks and alternative cover artwork).
Closing out the top 10: Selena Gomez and benny blanco’s I Said I Love You First falls 1-9 in its second week (7,000; down 90%) and Chappell Roan’s chart-topping The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a non-mover at No. 10 (nearly 7,000; down 4%).
Loyle Carner has shared his first taste of new music in almost three years with the release of new singles “All I Need” and “In My Mind.”
The London-based musician (real name Ben Coyle-Larner) released hugo, his most recent LP, in October 2022. The album hit the No. 3 spot on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart and was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize.
In the last week, he began teasing new music with photos from the studio on his Instagram, and in an accompanying press release, Carner said that indie acts such as Fontaines D.C., Idles and Big Thief inspired him to write more alternative music after years with his hip-hop-influenced sound.
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On the tour supporting hugo, Carner formed a live band to help elevate his material, and utilised the new set-up for “All I Need” and “In My Mind.” The tour concluded in August 2024 with a show at London’s 35,000-capacity All Points East festival in Victoria Park.
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Carner is yet to confirm the release of what could be his fourth studio album, but in June, he will headline Glastonbury’s Other Stage alongside other huge names across the weekend, including Charli XCX and The Prodigy, and has teased it as “his only show of the summer.” The Pyramid Stage will be headlined by The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo and Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts.
Since arriving on the British scene more than a decade ago, the south Londoner has released three studio albums — Yesterday’s Gone (2017), Not Waving, but Drowning (2019) and hugo (2022) — and his material has crossed over 1.1 billion streams throughout his career. In that time, he has sold out historic venues such as London’s Wembley Arena, and collaborated closely with guitarist Tom Misch and jazz group Ezra Collective.
He has been passionate about his love of cooking and raising awareness for people living with ADHD. In 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Arts London, and was recently announced to star in his first acting gig in the upcoming BBC series Mint, by BAFTA-nominated Scrapper director Charlotte Regan.
Listen to his two new songs below:
Lucy Dacus and MUNA’s Katie Gavin are on the latest cover of Alternative Press, and the duo paid tribute to an iconic Vanity Fair cover for their photoshoot. In the snap, Dacus is seen in a barber chair with shaving cream on her face, as Gavin gives her a sensual shave while wearing a black […]
Machine Gun Kelly will see your jokes and raise you more jokes. The rap/rocker took to his Instagram Story on Tuesday (April 8) to double-down on an Onion headline tweaking the new dad just weeks after MGK’s former fiancée, actress Megan Fox, gave birth to the couple’s first child together.
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“Megan Fox Confirms She and New Baby Will Co-Parent Machine Gun Kelly,” read the lightly teasing headline, which MGK re-posted along with three laughing crying emoji. That same reel featured a re-post of footage of the rapper performing his 2024 Trippie Redd collab “Beauty,” with a caption that paid tribute to his first-born, 15-year-old daughter Casie Colson Baker. “the girl dad was performing his rap song ‘beauty’ at his birthday party on April 22, 2024, and his daughter casie was vibing to it. she knows it’s a bop,” it read.
In another slide, Kelly hangs with Casie and implores her not to read the comments on one of his performance videos. “Why? They’re not bad,” she says, as he frets, “I know but of them, just like, I see certain words and I’m like, ‘aaaahhh.’”
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In an Insta post titled “dad.,” Kelly, 34, appears in a series of selfies in which he wears all black outfits, goofs around with Casie, shows off his Rolls Royce and hangs with pals Travis Barker, Camila Cabello and Atlantic Records VP of A&R Keith “Keefa” Parker aka “Keefa Black.”
Fox gave birth to her fourth child — she has three others with former husband Brian Austin Green — on March 27. To date the formerly engaged pair have posted some face-obscured photos of their newborn daughter’s and not much else. But last month Kelly threw cold water on suggestions that they’d named their little girl “celestial seed.”
The confusion came after MGK announced in an Instagram post that he and Fox, 38, had welcomed their first child along with a picture of his daughter gripping his fingers, writing, “She’s finally here!! our little celestial seed. 3/27/25.” After headlines suggested that the baby’s name was actually “Celestial Seed,” MGK clarified in his Stories, “wait guys… her name isn’t ‘Celestial Seed’ [crying laughing emoji] her mom is gonna tell you the name when we’re ready.”
Lucy Dacus reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Americana/Folk Albums charts for the first time as a soloist, debuting atop the April 12-dated surveys with Forever Is a Feeling. Dacus’ fourth solo LP bows with 30,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 3, according to Luminate. […]
Metallica dropped the first trailer for their upcoming fan-focused documentary on Tuesday (April 8). Metallica Saved My Life, directed by the band’s longtime collaborator, Grammy-winner Jonas Åkerlund, will be screened in select cities on the band’s ongoing M72 world tour.
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In a statement, the group wrote, “Not quite finished yet, we want YOU to be among the first to see our latest film project by award-winning director Jonas Åkerlund, all about the lifeblood of this band: the fans. This documentary explores our world through the lives of fans who have supported each other through highs, lows, trials, and triumphs for over four decades.”
In the one-minute preview, drummer Lars Ulrich states, “Metallica is a state of mind” over mournful piano as the band’s other members begin the sentence “Metallica is…” as a series of fans offer up their thoughts on what the group means to them. “Unapologetically real, and vulnerable,” says one man, while a woman adds, “hope, freedom, escape.”
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A montage of long-time die-hards then open up about how the band gave them an identity as they describe themselves, variously, as a “dork… loner… a weirdo,” with one Black fan recalling how people would ask him, “why are you listening to this white people music?”
“I wanna hear ’em, I wanna hear ’em all,” singer/guitarist James Hetfield says of the variety of stories in the film directed by Åkerlund, who was also behind the camera for their 1998 video “Turn the Page,” as well as 1999’s “Whiskey in the Jar” and 2016’s “ManUNkind.” “Whatever you want to put on that… religion, cult, family, whatever label. I don’t care. It’s a gathering of like-minded people that are there to celebrate life.”
In a statement the band said, “As a few of you may know, we’ve been working behind the scenes the last couple of years on a new film that will be released later this year starring you guys! Metallica Saved My Life explores our world through the lives of fans who have supported each other through highs, lows, trials and triumphs for over four decades. And yeah, we’re in it a little bit too.” The full doc, which will feature all four band members as well as actor Jason Momoa, is slated for release later this year.
Click here to find out more details about the locations and dates for the North American screenings of the unfinished film from April through June, which will be phone-free and have a two ticket per person limit.
Metallica will get back on the road for the continuation of the M72 tour on April 19 at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. This week the band also announced a collaboration with the American Red Cross for blood drives on their upcoming 2025 U.S. dates. Donors of all blood types are encouraged to make an appointment to give by clicking here; donors must be 17 in most states (or 16 with parental consent where allowed by state law) and weigh at least 110 pounds and be in general good health to be eligible to donate.
Check out the trailer for Metallica Saved My Life below.
A slot on the 1994 Lollapalooza lineup was almost relegated to Green Day‘s boulevard of broken dreams when festival founder Perry Farrell supposedly tried to block the band from performing — after which frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and his bandmates eventually got the last laugh when they did end up joining the tour 30 years ago.
In excerpts from Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour’s new book, Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival, published by People on Tuesday (April 8), the “American Idiot” singer recounts the story of how Farrell — apparently writing the punk rockers off as a “boy band” — pushed back against Green Day’s inclusion on the ’94 traveling festival’s bill.
“It was going to be [Japanese noise band] Boredoms on the first half, and us on the second half as the opening band,” Armstrong recalls. “And then all of a sudden, [Farrell] comes back in and he’s like, ‘I don’t want them on the bill.’”
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Calling Farrell’s dislike of his group “disappointing,” as Green Day had looked up to the festival pioneer, Armstrong adds, “I think that made us want to play even more, actually, because we wanted to prove that he had his head very far up his own a–.”
“I can’t think of a single time that Perry pushed back or vetoed a band — except for Green Day,” remembers stage manager Rubeli, who eventually found a way to convince Farrell to let the group onto the lineup. “To Perry’s credit, I was able to go through [Green Day’s] history in the Bay Area and how they had released indie records and eventually he said, ‘Okay, they can do half the tour, but I want the Boredoms on the other half.’”
Lollapalooza would have been just three years old in 1994, with Farrell starting the now-iconic music event in ’91 as a small farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction that quickly evolved into what it is today: one of the world’s biggest annual popular music festivals with multiple iterations across the world. After finally winning their place on the bill, Green Day got the last laugh against Farrell when Armstrong dedicated the band’s Dookie track “Chump” to him onstage.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not going to take any f—ing sh– from anybody,” Armstrong recalls in Bienstock and Beaujour’s book. “I’m not going to take any sh– from anybody as much as Perry Farrell’s not going to take any sh– from anybody.’ He had minions that would come up and say, ‘Perry Farrell’s really angry that you dedicated “Chump” to him.’ And I’m like, ‘Tell him to stop acting like one.’”
“But I never met the guy until we played Woodstock ’94,” he adds. “He was there and we shook hands.”
Lollapalooza has come a long way since its days as a fringe gathering place for alternative rock and other developing genres. Some of the biggest names in music now play the event every year, with this year’s Chicago iteration expecting Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Tyler, the Creator as headliners in addition to dozens more performers on the lineup.
And in 2010, Green Day’s beginnings with the festival came full-circle when the band headlined alongside Lady Gaga, Soundgarden, Arcade Fire, The Strokes and Phoenix.