Heineken-Ashi said:
Love Karnivool. But they really need to stop trying to be Australian Tool. While their albums are solid, they're not nearly good enough for taking so much time off in between. Their pinnacle is still Sound Awake and it's not close.
That's a really complicated discussion.
I definitely agree this album is not 13 years worth of quality, although it's my second favorite record of theirs.after Sound Awake. But musically this album doesn't sound much like Tool to me.
I'd actually consider Sound Awake to be their most Tool-like album, so I thought they did themselves a disservice moving away from the Tool sound. But maybe I just feel it was their most Tool-like album because it was their best album, and I also really like Tool. I don't know. Either way, for me, Sound Awake is a top 10 album of all time by any band and still criminally underrated. It is very smart and complex musically, yet sounds so natural and accessible at the same time. Perhaps that's why I consider it analogous to an album like Lateralus.
I don't know what they were doing with Asymmetry…there's a couple of tracks on that record I like, but I don't understand how the same band could release a masterpiece like Sound Awake and then follow it up with Asymmetry. Aside from the horrid production, the whole thing just sounded forced and rushed. I thought for sure they were headed for superstar status after Sound Awake….until I heard Asymmetry. I think that album derailed their trajectory as a band completely.
This album is at least a big step back in the right direction. Unfortunately it took so long they may not make another one at this rate. But I really like it.
