Style: Progressive rock, alternative metal (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Tool, Porcupine Tree, Votum, Wheel, Vulkan
Country: Australia
Release date: 06 February 2026

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Imagine the person you were thirteen years ago. Can you remember your aspirations and desires, your daily stresses and anxieties? Can you remember workshopping a tentative roadmap, or a ten-year goal? If you’re anything like most of us, the reality of your current life lies in stark contrast to any idealized version from decades past. For better or for worse, life is unpredictable, especially over such long stretches of time. The sooner one comes to terms with such a truth and learns to temper expectations, the better; after all, the point of life is simply to live it!

Sometimes, though, it’s nigh-impossible to avoid getting one’s hopes up. Sometimes, an opportunity arises which is so tantalizing that it’d be weird not to get excited. Sometimes, your favorite progressive rock band of all time fucking finally releases the new album they’ve been WORKING ON FOR THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS!

Ahem…

Karnivool have undergone something of an apotheosis over the course of their career. From the melancholy-tinged alternative metal beginnings of Themata; through the seminal, introspective progressive rock stylings of Sound Awake; finally culminating in the skin-shedding metamorphosis of the incredibly dense progressive metal comprising Asymmetry. For many, Sound Awake is the definitive Karnivool experience, and who am I to argue—it’s a perfect distillation of the group’s trademark gloom-cloaked sonic wayfaring. For myself though, Asymmetry is Karnivool’s most accomplished work to date, injecting a foreign, hostile sound of indeterminate origin into their DNA. Whichever album one prefers, the release of In Verses was always bound to be entangled within those pesky ‘hopes’ and ‘dreams’ of living up to some mythical record, and all the emotion that entails.

Such feelings are perfectly natural, and contextualization is practically impossible to avoid in the progressive music scene. In Verses can—and to an extent, should—certainly be contextualized within Karnivool’s previous output. Opener “Ghost” is immediately reminiscent of Sound Awake’s patient, rumbling groove; “Conversations” is subdued and emotional much like Asymmetry’s “Aeons”; and the bouncing rhythms of “All It Takes” bring to mind Sound Awake’s “All I Know”. One could be forgiven for listening to In Verses a few times, concluding that “it’s the marriage of Sound Awake and Asymmetry”, and walking away with nothing but a half-baked, positive impression. I wouldn’t forgive such a listener, but one could. No, In Verses is much too dense—essentially shrouded in a thick, gloomy haze that actively deters comparison much beyond vague sentimentality. 

“But Justin!” I imagine you shouting in protest, voice cracking and quavering. “Sound Awake and Asymmetry are dense as well! They’re full of polyrhythms and complicated song structures and interesting melodies and”—shut the fuck up, this is my review. While I concede that every Karnivool album is musically dense, In Verses weaves this conceit into the very fabric of its aesthetic identity. I’m not sure I’ve heard an album in recent (or even medium-term) memory quite as obsessively intricate in its soundscaping as In Verses. The first seconds of “Ghost” bubble and reverberate, tickling the listener’s ears with guitar and synth textures before exploding into the massive, sludgy distortion of Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking’s guitar tone a full minute later. “All It Takes” begins with a crystalline howl, interrupted by the reverb-soaked polyrhythmic style of drummer Steve Judd. The texture of the skittering guitar playing in “Aozora” is an early highlight, defining the build-up to the song’s climax minutes later, even mirrored by Judd’s drum performance in that moment. Each and every song is absolutely packed full of unique sounds and textures, to the point where listing them all would quickly become an exercise in futility. Never before have Karnivool sounded so manically detailed; the depth and complexity of their sound penetrates an entirely new dimension on In Verses. 

Such dense timbral application requires an equally purposeful mix. Thankfully, Forrester Savell’s crystal-clear production acts as an ornate manor whose halls leave plenty of space for Karnivool’s sonic roaming. Subtle textural details are never lost in the mix—instead, they’re fully illuminated alongside the bulk of the standard progressive rock instrumentation, like suspended specks of dust dancing in a sunbeam which spills through the manor’s palladian windows. During muddier, more climactic moments, I’m simply awash with the enormity of sound, thinking “what a severe texture” as opposed to “I wish I could hear what’s happening”. Savell’s production is conscious and deliberate, matching the intent behind each songwriting decision. Similarly, the songwriting accounts for the emergent architecture of such intense soundscaping, becoming fully and fundamentally integrated into the compositional process. 

So yes, In Verses is just as dense as whichever Karnivool album one holds highest in regard, even if the complexity manifests differently than before. What remains consistent—to a collective sigh of relief from the prog scene—is the quality of each member’s performance. Ian Kenny hasn’t lost a shred of his range over these thirteen years, his timbre and delivery as precise and emotional as ever. Goddard and Hosking’s intertwining guitar performances range from massive, unified riffs (“Drone”) to intricate ‘pas de deux’ (“Aozora”), painting In Verses’ backdrop with broad, harmonic brushstrokes. Jon Stockman’s bass remains foundational as ever: jagged and aggressive when needed (“Ghost”), otherwise glassy and psychotropic (“Conversations”). Judd’s drumming is easily the performative highlight, though, guiding each moment through precise pockets of groove (“Salva”); obfuscating time-feel with knotty polyrhythm (“Animation”); or physically propelling sound through the atmosphere (“Remote Self Control”). Judd’s greatest asset and defining quality is his masterful use of dynamics—a strength which extends to Karnivool as a whole unit. In Verses swells and ripples through build-ups and payoffs, adding a natural contour to its structure and pacing through dynamic interplay. 

As cliché as it may be, In Verses truly sounds like a natural maturation of Karnivool’s sound. One can practically hear the weight that a thirteen-year stretch bears, along with all the hopes, disappointments, victories, and scars such a length of time necessitates. While In Verses may lack whatever particular idealized aural characteristics that defined Sound Awake or Asymmetry, it represents a bold ‘second-first-step’, one that demands focused attention and deserves recognition. Expecting Karnivool to fall right back into the groove of decades past is simply unrealistic; you get what you get, for better or for worse. That’s life!

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Recommended tracks: Ghost, Conversations, Remote Self Control
You may also like: Sermon, Invalid Yellow, Inhalo
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Cymatic Records

Karnivool is:
– Ian Kenny (vocals)
– Drew Goddard (guitar)
– Mark Hosking (guitar)
– Jon Stockman (bass)
– Steve Judd (drums)