Stuart Douglas Mackenzie (born 26 October 1990) is an Australian musician best known as the frontman of rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

He serves as singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for the band and is recognized as its leader, a role he has filled since its formation in 2010.

Mackenzie formed King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard as a casual band for his friends in the Melbourne music scene to play together in without needing to rehearse or practice.

Under his leadership, they have come to be considered an important band of their generation, largely thanks to their cultivation of a devoted following through consistent touring and releases.

He was an aspiring Australian rules footballer as a child, and captained a juniors side in Anglesea that included future professional player Patrick Dangerfield.

[4] Mackenzie's first exposures to music came early in life, as his father would play songs by Neil Young and Paul Simon on guitar and sing him and his younger brother to sleep.

A lot of Mackenzie's friends already played instruments, and he felt a drive to "catch up" to his peers so he could join in on their jam sessions.

[7][5] In his high school years there, Mackenzie would join and form several bands within the local Melbourne music scene, some of which included future King Gizzard members such as Michael Cavanagh, Lucas Harwood[8] and Cook Craig.

It was in studying together at RMIT University in Geelong that Mackenzie met guitarist Joey Walker and drummer Eric Moore.

Mackenzie said the album was inspired by Western films and Red Dead Redemption, as well as "evil guitars".

[18] King Gizzard shifted from garage rock to a more mellow folk and psychedelic sound on the eight-track album.

[22] The album's mixing style led to it being described as "recorded through a woollen sock in an adjacent room".

Drawing upon jazz fusion and acid rock, the album's more laid-back sound was described as "unlike anything they've released before" by Tonedeaf magazine.

[30] On 17 August, King Gizzard released the title track "Paper Mâché Dream Balloon" as the lead single for the album with the same name.

[35] Described by Mackenzie as a "never-ending album", it features nine songs connected by musical motifs that flow "seamlessly" into each other, with the last track "linking straight back into the top of the opener".

[40][41][42] The music video for "Rattlesnake", directed by Jason Galea,[43] was described by Happy Mag's Luke Saunders as "a masterclass in hypnotism".

[45] It is a concept album divided into three chapters: The Tale of the Altered Beast and The Lord of Lightning vs. Balrog (released on 30 May), and Han-Tyumi and the Murder of the Universe (11 April).

Spill Magazine explained that the album "describes the impeding doom of the world in a dark fantasy genre kind of way".

The band made their international television debut on 17 April, performing "The Lord of Lightning" on Conan on TBS in the United States.

Mackenzie described the record as relating to the constant changes in their neighborhood, and trying to finding beauty in the location.

[52] In December, the band announced a new album, and two singles were released digitally: "All Is Known", which had previously been performed live, and "Beginner's Luck", an entirely new song.

They were stitched together, mashed together, stretched, warped… Just bizarre things.” On 9 April, the band released a music video for their new song, "Planet B".

[77] In February, the band announced a three-hour marathon set in Melbourne on 5 March, named Return of the Curse of Timeland.

[80][81] In August, they cancelled the remaining 13 dates of their summer European tour so Stu Mackenzie could return to Australia for treatment in his battle with Crohn's disease.

[83] A music video for one of their new songs, "Ice V", premiered on the 7th, alongside the reveal of the titles, cover artwork, and release dates for the albums.

They all released in October: Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava on the 7th, Laminated Denim on the 12th, and Changes on the 28th.

[90][91] In July, the band confirmed that they had been uploading albums from their bootlegger program onto streaming services under the name "bootleg gizzard".

[94] On 3 October, they premiered three of its singles ("Theia", "The Silver Cord", and "Set"), and a music video on YouTube.

[7] Mackenzie announced in 2022 that he suffers from Crohn's disease, and that the remainder of King Gizzard's European summer tour would be cancelled due to him seeking treatment amidst a "personal health crisis".

[105] Mackenzie confirmed in a Reddit AMA that he is vegan,[106] and it inspired some of the songs on the album Fishing for Fishies.