Karnivool: not your dad’s prog band, unless your dad was into bands that sound like Tool getting into a bar fight with Radiohead at a Meshuggah show. Crawling out of Perth’s musical underbelly in the late ‘90s, Karnivool started as a bunch of high school misfits covering Nirvana and Carcass — because why pick a lane when you can crash through them all? The name? Local gossip called them “a bunch of clowns.” Joke’s on everyone else — these clowns turned out to be jugglers of odd time signatures and existential dread.
Current lineup (a.k.a. the riff council):
- Ian Kenny – vocals (since 1998, and yes, that voice really does sound like it’s seen the void)
- Drew Goddard – guitar, backing vocals (riff architect and general noise wizard)
- Mark Hosking – guitar, backing vocals (joined in 2003, brought extra weirdness)
- Jon Stockman – bass, unclean vocals (since 2000; makes your subwoofer question its life choices)
- Steve Judd – drums (2004–present; the human polyrhythm)
Karnivool’s sound? Complex, atmospheric, and heavier than your unresolved childhood issues. Expect labyrinthine riffs, soaring harmonies, and rhythms that’ll have your brain doing math homework. Their influences run from the obvious (Tool, Deftones, Meshuggah) to the “wait, what?” (Pink Floyd, Radiohead), smashing prog, alt-rock, and metal together into something that shouldn’t work — but absolutely does.
Milestones worth screaming about:
- Started out local, quickly ditched covers, and got original (thanks, Kenny).
- Dropped their first EP in 1999, then Persona in 2001 — both a warning shot and a promise.
- Themata (2005): The debut album that made the Aussie scene sit up, panic, and start practicing.
- Sound Awake (2009): The album where they levelled up — richer, weirder, and proof they weren’t just a one-album wonder.
- Asymmetry (2013): Hit #1 on the ARIA charts, scored an ARIA Award, and gave prog nerds everywhere something to argue about for a decade.
If you’re hunting for Australia’s most influential prog-metal act, you’ve found them. Karnivool are the band your favorite band’s drummer wishes they could join. Still active, still evolving, still melting faces — just don’t expect them to play it straight or make things easy for you. That’s the point.
