Karnivool - Sound Awake
Rating
RIYL
ToolPorcupine Tree
A Perfect Circle
Oceansize
Release Date
06/05/2009
Label
SonyTracklist
1. Simple Boy2. Goliath
3. New Day
4. Set Fire To the Hive
5. Umbra
6. All I Know
7. The Medicine Wears Off
8. The Caudal Lure
9. Illumine
10. Deadman
11. Change
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The Australian invasion has begun, and progressive metal worldwide is all the better for it. Karnivool have delivered a modern masterpiece with their sophomore full length, Sound Awake, recently released in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. Hailing from Perth, a city widely known for being one of the most isolated metropolises in the world, the band have sharpened their time shifting alternative metal prowess into a fine tuned machine consuming everything placed in its path. Karnivool garnered international attention with their 2005 debut Themata and have returned stateside with their new release, an album that sits very comfortably among the finest prog this generation has witnessed. Light years away from their debut, Sound Awake is the result of four years of hard work, culminating in a vast and epic sonic landscape that demands your attention and requires your patience at the same time. The band is currently on the road in support of the record, tearing through the country with co-headliners Fair to Midland, developing their controlled chaos nightly to the ready and willing American audiences.
Due to the genre at hand, Karnivool may never be the biggest band in the world, but they certainly play as though they are. “Simple Boy,” rattles open with a distant hum as a short melodic xylophone trickles in for only a brief moment before the dirge of alternately tuned guitars and bass begin their assault. The musical talent is readily apparent, as drummer Steve Judd and bassist Jon Stockman lay down some of the most complex and compelling rhythms heard in recent memory. The rest of the band doesn’t exactly lag behind either… the dual guitar action of Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking wastes no time drawing the listener’s attention to their intertwining melodic lines that blaze from riffs to stunning drifting ambiance. Then there’s the voice of the band, Ian Kenny, whose bright and unique melodies sit perfectly on top of the dark passenger presented by the music. As he sings, “You’re free to go,” his angelic vocals soar into the upper registers before the music drops back into the initial xylophone melody accompanied by one of the most spaced out guitar riffs this side of Pink Floyd. The track makes for one hell of an opener, firmly cementing Karnivool’s return and the beginning of their uprising. Metallic processed guitars kick off “Goliath,” with Judd’s stuttering break-beat and Stockman’s subsonic rumble following closely behind. While much of the band’s attention stems from Kenny and the guitars, “Goliath” makes a point to show off the fact that they may just have one of the best rhythm sections in progressive rock. The song sprawls out in every direction it can move, as melodies warp to escort the maniacal rhythms within the confines of the song’s well built structure. The massive and truly epic “New Day” is a beast of another nature, showcasing Ian Kenny’s vocals and songwriting abilities. Gorgeous and expansive, his voice takes complete control of the song, with a soft but commanding quality that rises into an intense bellow finding strength amongst the beauty. The twin layered guitars blaze a hypnotic riff around the five minute mark, reminding you they are the complete package, as the band crash in and out of full volume attack, giving Kenny’s voice the main stage but never abandoning their own twisting sonic thunderstorm.
The band’s musical abilities aren’t their only strengths, as the sequencing of the record is also in phenomenal order, pacing from the beautiful to the aggressive. “Set Fire to the Hive” quickly changes the pace of the record, adding a vicious grooving animosity to the album. The track is the most reminiscent of the days of Themata, but a welcome texture with memorable choruses and hooks that will entrance you within the swarming guitars and pulsating bass. “Umbra,” draws the band back into a slower tempo and more peaceful realm, as Judd once again stuns with intricate double bass kicks and contorting rhythms that skip time signatures with clear cut precision. Kenny’s vocals sit front and center during the verses, while Goddard’s guitar creeps just below with a melody that recalls Tool’s Adam Jones’ signature style. The hook erupts as Kenny sings, “Wake me with a bottle across the head,” creating the bait to lure your memory, allowing the band to shift into the next movement of the song. Bursting through the serenity, the track escalates as the intricate instrumental passage takes a firm hold and refuses to let go. Second single, “All I Know,” bounces with harmonic pops from the guitars and accessible radio friendly vocals. Ian Kenny’s spare time as the singer of the ultra popular Birds of Tokyo may have rubbed off a bit on a track like this, but with Karnivool’s bursting out of every inch of the speakers, that is by no means a bad thing. Kenny’s vocals are muscular and engaging, supported by the band without feeling rivaled or overpowered.
While exceedingly short, “The Medicine Wears Off” serves up a healthy dose of atmosphere with Kenny crooning to a jazzy rhythm and slinky guitars that build with every approaching moment. The song helps to preserve the album’s ever moving progression, as they stampede into the polyrhythmic “The Caudal Lure.” Vibrant bass lines and experimental guitar driven effects only add to the bright eyed splendor of Judd’s triumphant beats. “Illumine” opens with tape manipulated samples whirring in glorious bursts before Hosking and Goddard take control with a scathing riff that blends perfectly into the mix. Credit must be given to producer Forrest Savell for bridging the connection between the band and their experimentations without losing the intensity or artistic nature of the musicians. Hard charging prog rock is showcased as the rhythm section slams into spastic time signatures below the piercing guitar and vocal melodies.
While many albums tend to dwindle toward the end, Karnivool have saved their best material for last with the lengthy soundscapes explored on “Deadman” and “Change”. “Deadman” is the album’s standout, thanks to enormous syncopated drums from Judd that sink into your conscious with tribal animosity and will easily bring to mind the incredible sound of Tool’s Danny Carey. The guitar solo that emerges five minutes into the nearly twelve minute opus also draws from the band’s Tool influence, but the sound of the song as a whole is very much their own. Kenny’s melodies drift back and forth over the distorted guitars' wavering sonic convulsions as he sings, “I don’t want this to end. I don’t think this will end well,” just before the chaos hits its climax then gently burrows back in the calming yet infectious melody. The massive nature of “Change” is one that needs to be heard to be truly understood. To say there is a lot going on within the final track on this album is an understatement and general injustice. Rising with gorgeous tribal drumming that wouldn’t sound out of place deep within the jungle; the guitars are quickly kicked into stun, with large doom inspired washes of distortion brooding with intensity. The song continues to shift into various movements with compliments of a swirling psychedelic madness spiraling out of the tight progressive structures that shift at rapid frequency. A journey into the wonders of progressive rock, the band use their final track to deliver a blast of time signature manipulation that will leave you scratching your head in disbelief as the album roars to a close. Sound Awake is a record that takes time and dedication to fully embrace. The technical abilities and structured artistic nature only get better with each successive spin. Several listens later and things have become more recognizable, more easily understandable, and with that, ever more extraordinary. Karnivool have more than proven themselves among the progressive greats, delivering compositions that evolve with endurance, crush with rhythmic intelligence, and take flight with radiant complexity and astounding melodic brilliance.
--Dan Goldin
Comments
Fishers, Indiana
Is this just getting reviewed?! This album is stellar. It's a travesty it's taken this long.
That said, nice review.
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Minnesota
It just came out in the US in February of 2010. So we were only able to buy it this year.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Lehigh Valley, PA
Cannot get into these guys at all
I'm half sleepand Ic ouldn't help but read the review,I agree completely,one of my favorite albums in a long time, the reason I think this is worth 5 stars is because it's contstantly playing, be it on my car, computer, cd player or mp3 player, personally, not many albums have this staying powerthese days, one of the very few times when I bought an import.
Senegal Africa
This album is sooo much better then their last one. So any band that improves on their sound deserves at least 4 stars.
Listening to:
fuckin african mosques (Tang na bu baax)
Dallas, Texas
Good shit.
Minnesota
So if Brokencyde's next album is slightly better than their first, we should give it 4 stars?
Find me EVERYWHERE:
PA
I loved this CD for like two weeks and then I just got sick of it hahaha. I'm not sure why.
Music Blog.
Depths blog. (my band)
Sunshine Coast, Australia
dunno, Themata is so powerful and such an amazing debut album. Sound Awake is brilliant as well, but songs like Roquefort and Cote from Themata can't be outdone.
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
Surprised there are lots of people who like this band. cool. and beware of brokencyde fanboys, you don't want a hurtgate one more time.
You can't compare this album with Themata, both good albums but it's like comparing nevermind with in utero. To me, technically, they might sound like a progressive rock band but at heart this is a wonderful modern rock band., or whatever people call that genre these days.
Milwaukee, WI
Good disc... If it wasn't for the large amount of content borrowed from Tool I might like it a little better. The vocalist is the best part of the band IMO, on of the better voices I have heard in a rock band in quite a while.
Senegal Africa
well there is a a difference between 'soo much better' and 'slightly' but if brokencyde were to break up (nothing>their shit) id give them 4 stars for the album they never tortured us with.
Listening to:
fuckin african mosques (Tang na bu baax)
Infinitely Inwards
great album.
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
The Mars Volta - Noqtourniqet
Aborted - Global Flatline
Spawn of Possession - Incurso
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
San Diego, CA
I don't like this album at all
Too old to bother, too young to give a shit.
Infinitely Inwards
no personal offense to anyone here; but if you are a fan of prog and appreciate intelligent songwriting, I don't see how you can't at least like this album. Some bands are genre defiant, some are genre defining, some (like brokencyde) are genre defilers. While Karnivool copies a lot of the RIYL bands intensively, it doesn't warrant any contempt for their own sound. Oceansize and Tool are 2 of my fav bands ever. That means I pretty much have to love Karnivool because they are a very intelligent copy of those original bands....And if any of you say that Oceansize sucks, then we're fightin'.
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
The Mars Volta - Noqtourniqet
Aborted - Global Flatline
Spawn of Possession - Incurso
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
Lehigh Valley, PA
thank you
Senegal Africa
now you guys have to rate this album 1 star so their will be a real virtual fight!!
Listening to:
fuckin african mosques (Tang na bu baax)
Sunshine Coast, Australia
whats wrong with it? surely you gotta be able to appreciate the talent yeh?
"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney
Leeds, England
Solid album, but I disagree about the last two tracks. They seem to drag on for me a lot of the time. I wish the rest of the tracks were as awesome as the first four.