KARNIVOOL – In Verses

vote
7.5

• Bands:
  KARNIVOOL
• Duration: 01:03:07
• Available from: 02/06/2026
• Label:

• Cymatic Records

Streaming not yet available

Thirteen years after “Asymmetry”, Karnivool return with “In Verses”, a work in which the band – supported by producer Forrester Savell – capitalizes on the product of over a decade of study, growth and experimentation.
The result is a chapter that we could define as autonomous and clearly detached from previous works, especially as regards the sonic dimension that the Australian band has been able to evolve: “In Verses” in fact develops along less immediate coordinates than previous recordings, placing at the center a now internalized sense of alienation and a reflection on the loss of meaning of language, relationships and social structures.

The opening with “Ghost” immediately clarifies the lyrical setting of the album, presenting faceless individuals, erased truths and words reduced to contentless formulas. It almost seems like theverses' cited in the title do not bring clarity but anesthetize a reality described as uniform and static; a sensation that also returns in “Drone”, where empathy becomes an obstacle, a destabilizing element in a context that rewards control and conformity.
The theme of emotional anesthesia runs through a good part of the setlist, finding one of its most explicit expressions in “Remote Self Control”, a song that addresses the progressive delegation of critical thinking and individual responsibility: here control is not imposed, but accepted, normalized, perhaps almost desired, creating a sort of balance between awareness and acceptance.
One of the most significant moments of the album is “Conversations”, focused on regret and missed dialogue: the song stages an intimate and painful reflection on missed opportunities and the impossibility of retroactively correcting one's choices, representing one of the most mature and personal passages of the entire work.
“Aozora”, for its part, introduces the theme of escape, understood not as definitive liberation but as an unattainable state towards which to strive; this idea is also reflected in “Reanimation”, enriched by the presence of Guthrie Govan as a guest. His contribution is surprising, however, being far from the virtuosity for which the British guitarist is known, and limiting itself to a controlled intervention perfectly integrated into the economy of the piece.
Also particularly interesting is “All It Takes”, a reworked and remastered version of an old Karnivool song: more than a simple recovery from the past, the piece here takes on a new conceptual weight, fitting naturally into the common thread of the album. The text – focused on cycles of illusion, faith and personal responsibility – reinforces the idea of ​​a path that looks back without nostalgia, but in order to reread recurring themes in the light of greater awareness.

From a musical point of view, “In Verses” moves on familiar territory for those who know the band, but with a more moderate approach than in the past: the structures remain articulated and the dynamics refined, but always subordinated to the emotional side of the album. The production, clean and layered, enhances both full and empty spaces, contributing to an overall tense but at the same time reflective atmosphere.
Overall, “In Verses” presents itself as an adult and not very accommodating work, which avoids direct comparisons with the previous “Sound Awake” or “Asymmetry” to assert its own new and characteristic identity.
We can hardly believe that fans of the old guard could be disconcerted by this work, as well as the so-called gatekeeper the most hardcore metal fans could relegate it to the 'not just metal' section. However, “In Verses” is an album that has a lot to say, a record that requires attention and time, but which, like a good wine, could only reveal its real value in the long term.