Guitar band tops charts via video game

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard has reached the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in the band's 16-year history. The Australian electro-psychedelic group secured the No. 62 spot with the track "Flower in a Hurricane." This achievement marks a notable shift for a band that has released 28 albums primarily in the rock genre.

The collaboration began two years ago when the French electronic duo Justice contacted King Gizzard. Justice was composing an original score for Grand Theft Auto VI, an action-adventure series set in Miami. The game is scheduled for release on November 19. The two groups planned to merge their musical styles for the project.

Stu Mackenzie, the vocalist and guitarist for King Gizzard, described the initial material sent to Justice. He noted that the six songs featured harmonica, hand percussion, and piano glissandos. Mackenzie said the tracks sounded like the band T-Rex. These rock elements were combined in a studio setting with contributions from Tame Impala and SZA.

Rockstar Games selected the resulting track, "Flower in a Hurricane," for the official launch trailer of the game. The trailer was posted on YouTube on October 15. In the less than two weeks since publication, the video has amassed more than 69 million views. Billboard reports that the full-length track is pushing five million streams in the United States.

The song is distributed by Take-Two Interactive Software, Atlantic, Because, and Virgin. U.S. sales have exceeded 1,000 units. This combination of streaming data and physical sales qualified the song for the Hot 100 chart. The soundtrack also features contributions from Keith Richards, Morgan Wallen, Travis Scott, Future, and Cardi B.

Mackenzie expressed surprise at the song's commercial performance. He described being grateful to participate in the project. The band's recent musical direction has already moved toward electronic sounds. Their most recent album, Alien Metal, was released on July 8. The press materials for that album described a process where traditional instruments were abandoned in favor of expansive synthesizer setups.

Mackenzie stated that this new production method completely rewired his brain. He said he intended to forget everything he knew about music and relearn it from scratch. Regarding the future of their collaboration, Mackenzie said he believes some of the other songs sent to Justice might be included in the game. He added that he has been making techno in his bedroom while waiting for the game's launch.