Kategorie: CD-Reviews | Genre: Prog | Heft: Jahrgang 2013, eclipsed Nr. 152 / 7-8-2013 | VÖ-Jahr: 2013 | Wertung: 8/10 | Label: Cymatic | Autor: MaB
Although nature is shaped by the principle of symmetry, it is nevertheless the small deviations from this ideal that are decisive for perceiving something as beautiful. Consequently, the third album of the Australian quintet Karnivool bears the title "Asymmetry", which is probably an allusion to the fact that stylistic polarities were increasingly used here. This time Nick DiDia (Incubus, Mastodon, RATM) sat on the producer's chair, making sure that "Asymmetry" got a rougher sound and didn't become a copy of the highly acclaimed predecessor "Sound Awake" (2009). Therefore Karnivool opened up in several directions: On the one hand they tightened the hardness screw again, on the other they emphasized the atmospheric, but also the dissonant elements. The worn opener "Aum" and the weightless final track "Om" form a kind of clamp within which the carnivool sound cosmos fully unfolds. Nachash" (Hebrew for "snake") already shows the newly won desire to experiment: Here the band is blatantly flirting with electronic sounds. Nevertheless, this approach is only pursued with the weak title song, which at best is considered a studio series. In "The Refusal" the Aussies even try their hand at a trendy roar core, but thanks to Ian Kennys' usual sovereign clean singing they barely get the hang of it. Karnivool are finally on the winning road when they unconventionally groove a waltz beat on the hymnal single "We Are" and go to work with an intensity reminiscent of The Mars Volta on the blurred "A M WAR". The most melodic is the epic "Sky Machine", which should appeal to younger and older Progfans alike.
Top Track: Sky Machine
