Australian progressive metal band KARNIVOOL will release "In Verses" on February 6 via Cymatic Records, ending a 13-year gap since 2013's "Asymmetry" and delivering what may be the most anticipated comeback album in progressive metal circles since TOOL's "Fear Inoculum." For fans who have waited over a decade, the arrival of new KARNIVOOL music feels like the breaking of a spell.
Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, calling the 10-track album their most ambitious and emotionally powerful work to date. Produced by longtime collaborator Forrester Savell, who also helmed "Sound Awake" and "Asymmetry," "In Verses" represents a decade of life experiences, personal upheavals, and studio experimentation distilled into a cohesive artistic vision. The band spent years writing and rewriting, scrapping entire sessions before finding the sound they felt honored the weight of expectation.
Tracks like "Ghost," "Drone," and "Aozora" showcase the band's signature blend of intricate polyrhythmic patterns, soaring melodies, and atmospheric textures that shift between crushing heaviness and ethereal beauty. Vocalist Ian Kenny delivers what critics describe as career-best performances, his voice navigating complex emotional terrain with the kind of vulnerability rarely heard in metal.
KARNIVOOL emerged from Perth, Western Australia in 1997 and built their reputation on the strength of three increasingly ambitious studio albums. "Sound Awake" in 2009 is widely regarded as a masterpiece of progressive metal, drawing comparisons to TOOL, DEFTONES, and RADIOHEAD while maintaining a distinctly Australian character. The long silence was broken intermittently by Kenny's work with BIRDS OF TOKYO and sporadic festival appearances, but "In Verses" marks the definitive return.