.png)
Aussie prog rockers Karnivool play two intimate shows in the US.
When Karnivool released their second, full-length album Sound Awake in Australia this June, their supporting tour sold out, the album went gold in just three weeks, and since their 2005 Australian full-length debut Themata (Biehler Brothers), the band has played some of the largest venues and crowds around the world. About to embark on a one-month UK tour, which will close in Australian on the Sine Waves and Mirrors tour with San Francisco prog rockers Dredg and Coerce from Adelaide, the Perth quintet stopped over to play two, intimate gigs in the US: the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles and New York’s Don Hill’s last Friday. This was also the first time the band has ever played in New York City.
Busy supporting the Australian release of Awake and playing Aussie fests like Big Day Out and Rock-It, the band hasn’t visited the US for more than a year and a half and are ready to reconnect to American audiences.
Packed houses on both ends, the band showcased songs from Awake (US release, February 2010), including four songs featured on their recent EP, Set Fire to the Hive (SIN/SonyMusic Independent Network). “I’m surprised by our fans here,” said vocalist Ian Kenny at Lower East Side bar Motor City the eve before their New York gig. “They were as involved as we were.”
Born in INXS’ hometown of Perth, the band originally formed in 1997 and were known mostly for their Nirvana and Carcass covers in high school, not their power, prog tracks or the more epic, 12-plus minute “Deadman,” also the last track on Awake (a live version from The Forum in Melbourne is on the new EP). Kenny wanted to create more original music and recruited new band members, guitarists Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass, and drummer Ray Hawking (Steve Judd replaced Hawking in 2006). The band soon released their self-titled EP in 1999 then another, Persona, two years later.
More than eight years later, Awake may just be an awakening for Karnivool—and for new fans. After 10-plus years, getting tighter is inevitable, but they make it look so easy. Pure wickedness! Goddard’s guitar arrangements float effortlessly in unison throughout the EP from title song “Set Fire to the Hive” to “Roquefort” and "Themata." Pick up some infuences of Helmet, Clutch and the atmospheric pulse of Tool. (Please note: Karnivool (not synonymous to carnival) are louder than any audible screams from a rollercoaster dropping full-speed, flip listeners upside down like one of those space shuttle rides and may impart some post-house of mirrors vertigo.)
Producer duty went to 28-year-old Forrester Savelli, who’s also worked with Brisbane’s The Butterfly Effect and Dead Letter Circus, along with the band at Blackbird and Kingdom Studios in Perth. One change on the EP (and Awake) are the empire horns added to “Roquefort.” Horns were something the band wanted to do since they first released the song on Themata a few years earlier.
Hesitant to expose much of their music in the wrong areas, the band finally decided to allow the use of “Set Fire to the Hive” in a recent iPhone game application, Pools of Blood, a finger tapping game that lets players squash the most mutants. Whoever spills the most blood wins. “It’s a lot of fun and pretty addictive,” said bassist Stockman. “It’s a good vehicle for us to push. We’re pretty careful what we let get exposed, but we thought it was cool.”
The band may seem modest, but they really just want to play wherever they can. Arenas and festival-size audiences are usually the norm but have not deterred the band from playing smaller venues in the US like the 300-capacity Don Hill’s. "We’re used to bigger shows, so it’s a bit of a shock, but those are also things that differentiate the band,” said Kenny. “For smaller bands, it gives them a place to show their music, but any band should be able to do this. It’s any reason to play, really. We look for any reason to play.”
Obviously, this dedication resonates with fans across the Pacific. At last Tuesday’s Los Angeles show, two fans flew in from Australia and several others from Vegas, Phoenix and other cities for the Los Angeles show. “We had the whole crowd cheering,” said bassist Stockman. “We’re not a top 40 band, so if people are catching four to five minutes of our music and saying ‘oh I can listen to this’ that’s good enough for us.”
New York was just as rabid. Don Hill’s was packed Friday night, and everyone on line was pysched to see Karnivool—some for a second or third time. One fan even boasted about ordering five copies of Awake back in June from an importer. The band’s prog roots have definitely been planted and replanted again in Australia, but Karnivool still haven’t stuck completely in America—yet. “We just like to take our music to an audience that maybe haven’t heard you before,” said guitarist Hosking. “We did that in Australia about four years ago, but America is the dream place people want to play.”
Finally back in America, in plaid shirt and thick-rimmed glasses, Kenny swayed to opener opening with “Simple Boy” and “Goliath” from Awake. From there, they moved back and forth with tracks from Awake and Themata like “C.O.T.E.” and “Shutterspeed” before closing with “Themata.” Goddard made sure to remind the audience that they have a new album coming out in February. “It’s awesome” yelled one audience member (most likely the same young man who ordered his advance copies) before the band ripped into “Umbra.”
“People really want to be challenged,” said Goddard. “If we put more of our heart in it, there’s more longevity for us.”
He pauses as he thinks some more about Karnivool’s ultimate direction. “We just go where the music takes us.”
Don Hill's Set List
Simple Boy
Goliath
C.O.T.E.
Shutterspeed
Umbra
Fear of the Sky
Set Fire to the Hive
Roquefort
Themata
Set Fire To The Hive EP Track List
1. Set Fire to the Hive
2. Themata
3. Roquefort
4. Deadman (Live at The Forum)
Comments