Karnivool’s “made in Australia” prog

After 13 years (!) of recording silence – a wait that put the zen patience of the most devoted “Vool-igans” to the test – the Karnivool they are back. “In Verses” it is a thesis on contemporary progressive metal and on the band’s ability to evolve without losing its dense sonic identity.

The partnership with Forrester Savell

The album marks the return of the partnership with Forrester Savellthe sonic architect behind “Sound Awake.” Technically, “In Verses” is positioned between the crystalline cleanliness of the past and the muddy experimentation of “Asymmetry”. In Mixing, the frequency separation is millimetric. Despite the complexity of the arrangements, Jon Stockman’s bass maintains a defined bite that never drowns in the guitars.

The album rejects the loudness war. There is a wide dynamic scope, fundamental to enhance the atmospheric crescendos that characterize tracks like “Ghost”. But the beating heart of Karnivool remains there rhythm sectioncapable of transforming complex polyrhythms into almost hypnotic grooves. Credit to Steve Judd’s drums and Stockman’s bass.

In songs like “Aozora” (Japanese term for “blue sky”), Judd uses ghost notes and accents on the plates that defy the linearity of the four quarters, creating a frenetic yet strangely airy carpet. Stockman’s tone remains one of the most imitated in the genre. On the record, Stockman experiments with more granular distortions, often acting as a melodic “third guitar” rather than simple tonal support.

Reference points

Ian Kenny’s voice has aged like a fine wine. In “In Verses”, Kenny almost completely abandons the aggressiveness of his early days to focus on one ethereal vocality. The lyrics explore themes of catharsis, rediscovery of identity and the complex fragility of being human in 2026.

And it is also from here, from the attention to the human side of music and to the details, that their credibility is born. The wait for this latest work was one of the longest in the genre. In these 13 years, the Karnivool have become a “cult” myth, especially in their motherland. While Kenny climbed the Australian pop rock charts with Birds of Tokyo, the rest of the band (led by the mind of Drew Goddard) continued to refine, discard and rebuild.

The real surprise of their return is the ability to hold back. The technique is still monstrous, but it is at the total service of the atmosphere. Kenny brought back to Karnivool the melodic sensibility honed in the pop years, creating an even starker contrast with the intricate textures of Goddard and Stockman. If “Sound Awake” was the explosion and “Asymmetry” the chaos, “In Verses” represents the right synthesis.