KARNIVOOL – MARGARET COURT ARENA – MELBOURNE – 24.07.2026|
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: David Harris.
On Friday night we attended Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena to witness Karnivool delivering the biggest headline Australian show of their career, performing their latest album ‘In Verses’ with special guests TesseracT and Car Bomb.
Australian prog rockers Karnivool are a Perth-based band formed back in 1998 and recently released their long-awaited 4th studio album In Verses which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the first local album to reach the top position in 2026. Karnivool’s music is a blend of heavy, complex progressive metal and alternative rock with soaring melodies and they are well-known for their mesmerising live performances. I first saw Karnivool back in 2011 at the Ferntree Gully Hotel on their New Day Tour and have experienced them several times more over the years, including the Good Things Festival at Flemington Racecourse in 2019. It has been 13 long years since Karnivool last released an album and fans like me were clearly excited to see them again.
The show kick started with American mathcore metal rockers Car Bomb from Long Island, New York. Their band name perfectly describes their style of music as they literally blew the roof off Margaret Court Arena with their punishing intensity and enormous heavy wall of sound. Lead singer Michael Dafferner’s raw, forceful, throat tearing screams and unfiltered aggressive howls provided a mix of vicious, chaotic and haunting melodies that acted as a weapon for the band’s breakneck intensity. They played with cold, calculated heavy force, executing complex, robotic-like time signatures flawlessly. Their thrashy sound made for an interesting choice as show opener.
Next up were British progressive metal band TesseracT from Millton Keynes in the UK. Frontman Daniel Tompkins’ clean, melodic and dynamic vocal range was a fresh change after having just had our eardrums blown out by Car Bomb. Tesseract performed a highly theatrical metal show with razor-sharp sonic clarity, stunning lighting visuals and a serene, atmospheric vibe. They possess an enormous sound that blends progressive metal with heavy djent, ambient, and melodic elements. They were joined by two wonderful backing singers (Kat Marsh & Rio Hellyer) creating an even richer and more dynamic sound. Based on all the TesseracT band t-shirts we saw and the response the band received when they hit the stage, they have a huge following in Australia. They opened with Natural Disaster from their latest release War of Being and it sounded incredible. Their 8-song set featured the self-titled track from this album along with Legion. They played a few tracks from Sonder (2018) with King, The Arrow and finished with Juno.
Karnivool took to the stage tearing straight into the ferocious, raw opening track GHOST, which is the first track from their long-awaited 2026 album In Verses. They had the audience captivated and hooked immediately. I’m lovin’ the new album, which features Karnivool’s hallmark textures, hypnotic rhythmic drive, and crushing riffage. Much to the delight of fans old and new, SIMPLE BOY from Sound Awake (2009) followed with frontman Ian Kenny’s dynamic clean vocals that float smoothly over the swirling guitars, driving bass and drums. Kenny sings and sways to the rhythmic heavy grooves while he effortlessly shifts between soaring melodies and emotional vulnerability commanding the stage with complete conviction. He has such distinctive, angelic-like vocals and a majestic presence that seamlessly shift from soaring falsettos to tense, emotional screams.
The giant cinematic backdrop ran the full length of the stage and displayed images of each of the band members – Steve Judd (drums), Ian Kenny (lead vocals), Jon Stockman (bass), Drew Goddard (lead guitar) and Mark Hosking (guitar). The strobe lighting flashed to the beat of the drums, creating a pulsing, high-energy visual effect. Karnivool performed a dynamic 14-song set that combined songs from In Verses (2026) along with a few fan favourites from their past 3 studio albums Themata (2005), Sound Awake (2009) and Asymmetry (2013).
Fans seemed to embrace the new tracks from In Verses like AOZORA and DRONE, which showed that Karnivool have evolved from their past albums and these fresh new songs seem perfectly constructed with their massive soaring vocals, intricate guitar work and driving rhythms. Judd’s drumming is the driving force behind Karnivool and watching him shifting between total rhythmic control and calculated chaos with immense physical authority was a pure masterclass. GOLIATH from Sound Awake with its 27/4 time signature groove, monstrous bass, thumping drums and Kenny’s soaring falsetto vocals was an absolute banger!
The deeply intense prog rock anthem WE ARE from Asymmetry (2013) was clearly a fan favourite with Goddard and Stockman weaving jagged, overlapping riffs and Kenny singing with such raw emotion: “I want us to break the case we’re in, We’ve worn it for too long, this catatonic skin”, it was a powerful moment. The new tracks continued with CONVERSATIONS, ALL IT TAKES and then on CONVERSATIONS, they welcomed harpist Michelle Smith to the stage to play a 47-string harp which was stunning. During this song the screen displayed a giant image of a bare tree on a desolate landscape which was incredibly effective.
A highlight of the evening was hearing two of my favourite tracks from Themata (2005). Many fans around us jumped out of their seats during the self-titled track THEMATA and two horn players joined Karnivool on stage for ROQUEFORT. Judging by the crowd response, this was the pinnacle of the show along with NEW DAY from Sound Awake that followed, featuring a delicate and beautiful harp performance by Smith and a crowd sing-along.
The encore consisted of two more songs from In Verses and kicked off with Smith performing a haunting, delicate plucked harp solo on OPAL. During the harp solo, Kenny joined Smith on stage and his soaring vocals created a stunning, atmospheric soundscape. The band then joined them and hooked in providing heavy, vein-jolting riffs and soaring instrumentation. The closing song of the show was the atmospheric, slow-burning ballad SALVA, which gradually built up to a massive, cathartic climax with bagpiper Grant Scroggie joining them towards the latter part of the song to close out an epic set.
Karnivool’s sound has developed considerably over the years and this night was truly a triumph, featuring next-level production and a stellar live performance. Karnivool captured fans’ hearts with a combination of their fresh new tracks and past classics, delivering a show that was a masterclass in heavy progressive rock … equal parts cerebral, visceral and spiritual.
SET LIST:
GHOST
SIMPLE BOY
AOZORA
GOLIATH
DRONE
WE ARE
CONVERSATIONS
ALL IT TAKES
ANIMATION (featuring harpist Michelle Smith)
THEMATA
ROQUEFORT (featuring horns)
NEW DAY (featuring harpist Michelle Smith)
Encore:
OPAL (featuring harpist Michelle Smith)
SALVA (featuring Grant Scroggie on bagpipes)
