Predator X was the unofficial name given to the Pliosaurus funkei, a large pliosaurid reptile that lived over a hundred million years ago during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Two incomplete skeletons were found by a team of Norwegian paleontologists in Svalbard in 2009 and upon reveal, Predator X was the subject of many sensational headlines with many reports noting its size and power. Estimates place Pliosaurus funkei’s full body length at a staggering twelve meters in length, or around thirty-nine feet. For reference, a school bus is about thirty-six feet long. Its bite force was nothing to scoff at either — 33,000 pounds per square inch! While going extinct two hundred million years ago, Pliosaurus funkei remains an extraordinary find and in 2022, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard gave it a tribute. With lyrics touting the reptile’s threatening presence and violence, the song is the second and final metal song on Omnium Gatherum, and it calls back to “Perihelion” from Infest the Rats’ Nest at the end of its solo.
A rough demo for the song (from Demos Vol. 4: Music To Die To) reveals that the song was originally faster than the final version. The pause between the song’s solo section is shortened and features a new lead-in. The solo itself is also missing. The ending features a new section with Stu singing the title multiple times in succession. Stu is seen recording the guitar part for the song at 8:54 of The Making of Omnium Gatherum. The final track was played by Cavs (drums), Cook (synthesizer), Joey (bass/guitar) and Stu (vocals/guitar) and was recorded, mixed and produced by Stu.
In February of 2022 the band teased Omnium Gatherum’s track listing on Twitter using emojis which the weirdo swarm had to decipher. “Predator X” was represented by a shark and a red cross mark, which was figured out by a few people on the 8th. The first to receive confirmation was @TunaDrinksBeer. The song was released as part of Omnium Gatherum on April 22nd, 2022 and was featured in a quick promo video uploaded by the band.
“Predator X” was first played on 2022-04-20 at the Rialto Theatre in Tucson and would appear throughout 2022 as a regular standalone metal track that didn’t steer far from what was heard on Omnium Gatherum. In 2023 the song become the end destination of jams at shows like 2023-03-06 and 2023-03-08, though it was still mostly played by itself.