Karnivool are on a UK tour in support of Welsh metal band, Skindred, but tonight Skindred are further down the bill. Skindred were good. They had obviously brought a few fans along as the front row waved their hands in the hair and sung along to every word. The band’s frontman reminded me a little of Gnarls Barkley but their sound was closer to Mammal.
Without warning, the next support act appeared on stage in a dramatic and well-rehearsed fashion. Forever Never were a little too metal cliché for my liking – long hair, headbanging and plenty of screams.
Fashionably late on stage, Karnivool entered to an excited room. Front man Ian Kenny wore a checkered shirt, his hair slicked back and lens-less black-framed glasses. They opened with ‘Simple Boy’ followed by ‘Cote’. Both were crowd pleasers and Kenny flawlessly hit every note. There is no wonder that he is thought of as one of Australia’s best vocalists.
Somewhere between ‘Deadman’ and ‘New Day’ I noticed the band looking slightly wrecked, but they charged on and gave it their all, at one stage Kenny screaming into two microphones. Between tracks, I heard an English accent comment “Wow, they sound just like tool” which was perhaps a fair comment. They definitely showed an on-stage charisma which could no doubt see them playing arena shows in a Tool- type style.
‘Thermata’ was a highlight of the set, showing why it was the track which gave Karnivool so much attention back in 2005.
In one big finale, they belted out ‘Roquefort’. Karnivool are superb songwriters and a joy to watch live – they are one of our best. Their new album Sound Awake is out now. Go get it.
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