Album Rating: 4.5

When that bagpipe hits... chef's kiss

Album Rating: 4.5

Yeah I couldn't help but laugh when the bagpipes kicked in, not expecting it at all. Salva probably my favourite here. Such a massive ending to this incredible album

Album Rating: 4.5

Album fucking rules, what a comeback

Album Rating: 4.0

Bagpipes are always a guaranteed winner

Album Rating: 4.0

Love me some bagpipes, agreed

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm so happy that this is out

Album Rating: 4.5

bagpipes were gorgeous yes

a few listens down, I can't wait to get familiar with the songs. so glad there is a new album from this band 🥹

Album Rating: 4.0

I don't think we could have hoped for a better album. It's amazingly good. I fear I am not entirely in Karnivool mood though.

Conversations earns every secong of build-up and is a strong contender for SOTY. It gets very intimate after the 5 minute mark. That riff with the appalachian acoustics feels like a Porcupine Tree'd version of Tool of some sort.

Ghost is an absolute ripper and a perfect start to the album

ian never should have focused on birds of tokyo

vool were always far superior

Album Rating: 4.5

Conversations and Ghost are probably my two favs atm. Whole album is so incredibly strong though. I’m seeing their acoustic show this week - will report back on how it is. Hoping they break out some unplayed tunes there.

Album Rating: 4.0

Immensely unfair that you actually get to see them. Tell them to come to my backyard in America, it's large and in the woods.



I shot myself in the foot a little bit on this doing the singles too many times. I don't know if this will pan out to be my favorite release from them, Sound Awake has had so much time to settle into classic album territory and grow to be a really special album, and I'm also on a tiny island of being a pretty big Asymmetry fan as well but that one took a pretty long time to really grow on me too. This one feels a lot more immediate and it's definitely a fantastic career spanning culmination for them to be dropping at this point after such a long wait, would agree with other comments here that it's a pretty natural melding of their Themata and Sound Awake sound with some of the more atmospheric aspects of Asymmetry worked in more naturally. regardless of where it lands I'm very pleasantly surprised that we finally got it and it's not absolute ass/a phoned in mess. also JOHN STOCKMAN BASS TONE

Album Rating: 4.5

Conversations is the best song here by far and one of their top 5 songs. When that lead guitar line makes a reappearance at around 4:30…incredible. There’s a lot of Karnivool greatness on this album that was missing on Asymmetry.

Album Rating: 4.0

glad I'm not the only one re: Conversations. Brilliant song. The singles were bangers but I was holding out for something like that and Salva and of course they delivered.

Album Rating: 4.5

I have seen a couple of a tempered feelings towards Conversations. I can rationalise it, but I don’t really understand. It’s such a cohesive, layered, and emotional track.

“Ian never should have focused on birds of tokyo”

13 years between albums though you gotta pay the bills somehow.
Especially being a musician in Australia.

Birds aren't the reason for how long Karnivool take between albums, it just takes them fucking forever to write songs since Drew stopped being the sole songwriter and they have to do everything democratically. so yeah bro is just keeping the lights on while the rest of Vool writes the instrumentals lol

Album Rating: 4.5

There were also some gnarly mental health issues in the band after Asymmetry. And Ian went through a divorce after his wife cheated on him. Life happens. They came back as strong as ever and they’re still bros, which is all that matters.