Karnivool - Themata

Fri 25th Feb, 2005 in Music Reviews

After forming in 1998 Karnivool are by no means newcomers to the local music scene in Perth, however, it has been a long time coming for the release of their debut album, Themata. The album was recorded during the majority of last year in Melbourne after the band made a similar move to bands before them, such as good mates Full Scale.

If you’re wanting to know what to prepare for with the band’s sound - it’s a similar blend of heavy nu-metal that is highly addictive.

The opening track C.O.T.E opens with some soft drum beats and an intro of sharp guitar and bass riffs that immediately draws the listeners attention. Vocally the melodic lingering in, “now I don’t think you like me now…” is a soft and sweet sound drawing us in to the complete contrast of heaviness with “have you heard, it’s a silent dream…” This use of juxtaposition creates a sense of binary where the melodic tune represents everything that may be dreamlike and ‘kinder’ in this world where the heaviness represents the reality and possible ‘harshness’ of what truly exists.

The title track Themata is definitely up there among the standout tracks on this album. “I am learning slowly, so what am I to see, every twist and turning, through my hypocrisy…” The song combines some electronic mix of the vocals which creates a different more unique feel and again there is also a blend of fast pacing verses contrasted with slower choruses. This contrast invokes changes in emotion by the listener and allows them to delve a little bit deeper into the lyrics and potential meaning of the song. “It’s so good to see, this world is alive…”

Unlike the prior recordings, there are a couple of songs on Themata which seem to be deliberate moves by the band in seek of possible commercial success. The songs, Shutterspeed and Sewn & Silent are uncharacteristically shorter songs by the boys and tamer with the transitions between softer and heavier sounds. Shutterspeed will be the first single released off the album.
 
“I see more than you, and I feel more than you…” The acoustic introduction of Sewn & Silent is again a little different to the way the band usually go about things. This song is a typical rock ballad where the whole song is slower, gradually leading up to a climax at the end of the song where the music finally breaks in harder and louder and the vocals make their power heard more substantially.

A personal favourite on this album would be the song Lifelike. Throughout this song there is a constant background of voices, almost persistent arguments, which create an atmosphere of the real world, “So run with me if you must follow, I’ll take you away to this place…” There is just so much going on in this song that it’s almost a stimulant to appreciating the effort that must have gone into creating it. The vocal raps that make the verses indicate the versatility that is found in Kenny’s vocals considering he is also able to perform powerful screams along with a nice balance of heavy and melodic vocals. Other standout tracks to listen out for are: Rocquerfort which is a song that had some input from Full Scale’s Ezekiel Ox, and Synops which is another song that shows the band at their best.

In the middle of the album there is the song Scarabs which is the shortest song on the album, a little over two minutes and it see the a fast-paced instrumental that has you out of your seat and scattered everywhere in a hardcore dance. Scarabs in a different light can be seen as an intermission, it does take a breather from the vocals and allow the listener to savour their hard-hitting music without any other influences being factored into the equation.

The final judgement on Karnivool’s Themata is that it is going to be one of the top albums in the nu-metal genre all year. Shining though with Kenny’s vocals and supported by killer music in more aspects than one, the band are definitely one exciting Australian package.