They’re fucking back baby

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Can't wait to hear this one! This album took way too long to come out

Album Rating: 4.5

all is well on sput when tundra is tundraing



anyway, haven't been able to digest the whole thing yet, but i'm definitely digging the sound. will try to get through it in one go soon. i kinda dig how strong the commercial angle seems to be to this one, can see it reaching a wider audience than just prog enjoyers

Album Rating: 4.0

"all is well on sput when tundra is tundraing"



I think he gets paid in DogeCoin or something to be a contrarian sometimes

Wasn't too keen on the singles upon first listen, but it's quickly growing on me now that I give this a proper spin. Opener definitely has some Themata hiding in the back.

The sound collaging on this is actually impressive. Album feels so modernly produced, but still manages to pay hommage to those warm and organic mid-2000's prog tones.

Album Rating: 4.5

This is impressive. It blew away my expectations i wasn't expecting a full send album.

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

It's very well bookmarked Ghost and Salva are incredible and have some peak Karnivool moments that rival anything they've ever done. So glad we got another album at least on Themata's level, I still think Sound Awake will be no. 1 for a lot of people that was just pure lightning in a bottle but damn I can see this taking a close no. 2 spot over time.



At times it does feel a bit over baked similar to issue Fear Inoculum had where I assume a lot of these songs have been in the works for a long time and had so many revisions through the years and I don't think the band themselves favours by playing so much of the material so early on because I see some fans preferring earlier versions whilst I was pretty blind to most of it and waited for the official release.



Damn I can't get over how fucking good that last minute of Ghost is, that "like every other day" refrain it sounds right at home on Themata and then that stanky ass breakdown, best musical moment of the year for me already.

Album Rating: 4.0

Just finished my first run of the album and, holy shit. What a great piece of music. Is "Salva" already a SOTY contender? Might be.

they were so good live when i saw them for sound awake

No hate on the review, I think you’re a skilled writer and it’s cool that you tried something different, but from a reader’s perspective you’re not really *saying* much, you’re just expressing things, which makes it more of a shallow dip than a deep dive. Advice for next time would just be to use your abilities in a more grounded way. Not that you can’t just talk about the vibes and atmosphere without writing a list of what instruments do which things, but if you’re going that route I think it needs to be able to impart something to the audience beyond abstractions. Keep it up though man, I think you’re capable of some great writing.

Edit: just to add, this is something I’ve struggled with too, and I still don’t always nail the balance. That said, there’s still value in calibrating with stuff like this that’s all the way in one direction, so you can get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. From personal experience, looking back, I think the reviews I’m most happy with are the ones where I didn’t take my writer’s voice so seriously. They’re much more fun to read, they’re engaging, and they’re also easier to write. If you inject a bit of a tonal shift into your next review and hit on a few more tangible points, you’d have a great foundation imo.

Album Rating: 4.0

John Stockman and Steve Judd are names you truly just don't see enough.



Waited 13 years for more of this bass tone.

Album Rating: 4.5

This is waaay better than Fear Inoculom. LOve that album but it doesn't blow me away like this does. Sometimes 13 years is worth the wait whodda thunk

Album Rating: 4.5

@Scuro, thanks for the thoughts homie. I appreciate that a lot.



I certainly think I have irked a few people by not talking about the music per se. That’s very fair given it’s usually what people expect when they read a music review haha. I usually keep it more traditional; you can read some of my prior reviews if you’re keen.



For this release in particular, having followed the band for a very long time and knowing the trials and tribulations involved in making it, and my own alongside, this is more of a personal ode to that. I suppose the underlying point of the review is that there is great beauty in learning to find release in between the extremes. There’s maturity in it that can only come from suffering. That’s what I think Karnivool have done with this album, and what makes it a special piece of art.



You’re right though, for a general audience I think it could have been executed more effectively. Something to consider for next time

Album Rating: 4.5

@Mongi Agreed. While technically interesting, I find FI a bit too inflated, with very few payoffs. IV has those big “oof” moments which instantly makes it a better album IMO.

Album Rating: 4.0

Find myself enjoying this the most where it takes a breather or steps out of their comfort zone more, the bookends are obvious standouts but I'm also really liking Conversations, Remote Self Control, Opal, particularly on these first listens.

Album Rating: 4.5

Conversations is fucking amazing I love that in a similar way I love Sky Machine

Album Rating: 4.5

Conversations is a crazy song. It’s 8 minutes long and doesn’t shift dynamically all that much, but breezes by in an instant. Feels like a drive through the countryside the whole time. On paper I wouldn’t think it works, but it just does. It’s so good.

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

That little lick they play at like 3:55 on drone had my jaw on the floor. Love it so far.

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

Salva destroyd me holy shit hahahahahah