Sound Awake

Nice metal album. Sometimes sounding a bit too much like tool. I do not really like the ballads (f.e. New Day), but that probably is a matter of personal taste as they are favorites of a lot of listeners.

Very nice surprise. A band totally unknown to me, but it felt like nostalgia. 16 year old me would have bought the album immediately

Didn't love this. I like a lot of progressive rock from the 70s, but for some reason the more modern progressive rock doesn't usually connect with me. 3 stars.

A pretty cool prog rock metal album that seems to be very influenced by tool. I like tool so this was a good listen for me. Never heard of this band before but I would relisten to this album. The hard riffs mixed with the understandable lyrics is always a good combo. 6.6/10

Blew my mind. Thought it would be piss-poor numetal. Instead, it's thoughtful prog rock displaying incredible talent. Need to dig deeper on this band.

Aussie metal - which can only be a good thing! Wears its influences on its sleeve (if it had sleeves!) A fun listen I would maybe never have heard otherwise

I didn't think there would be a sweet spot between Tool, The Mars Volta and Porcupine Tree, but here we are.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Set fire to the hive, All i know, The caudal lure, Change

Enjoyed this a lot

I started off thinking this was very much like yesterday’s Tool album. And maybe it is, but I think I enjoyed it a bit more. While it isn’t yet a five for me, I think it could get there. I really like the long, epic final two songs which enticed me to listen to it a second time which increased my appreciation.

Nice and heavy, lots going on musically to like, complex and layered. A great listen tbh. Initially my reaction was I'm not sure how much more anger we need in the world, even as grown up and polished as this is. At least that's how I'm feeling today as grievance torches my retirement. But while there's intensity here for sure, with a closer listen I realize it's more emotionally nuanced than I first thought and ultimately I'm a sucker for some horns. I wasn't previously aware of Karnivool so I appreciate the share.

not terrifyingly bad. not terrible, either. I guess it's saying the same thing. Not a whole lot going on with this album that I could get.

This was really good. Musically nuanced, with a weighty sound. Rock solid instrumentation and an excellent vocalist in Ian Kenny. Fave Songs: Umbra, Goliath, Simple Boy, New Day, The Caudal Lure, Set Fire to the Hive

Interesting, new-to-me heavy/alt rock, a lot of Pearl Jam DNA, but shot through with shades running from Pink Floyd to Radiohead. Overly self-serious as this genre tends to be, but a cut above the general pack musically.

Better than I expected

This one didn't do much for me.

Alternative metal, progressive metal, progressive rock. Ni fu ni fa.

I've tried to get into these guys over the years. A bunch of my mates are into them and I saw them live a few years ago (gotta credit them for playing in Coffs Harbour) but... eh? I'm not a big tool fan, and they just sound like tool. It's pretty competent, but it's not my thing. 3/5.

This album is pretty interesting for being part of the nu metal genre at sort of the tail end of that genre (at least as far as I'm aware). It's definitely good in parts, but it starts to sound like a lot of other things I've heard in other parts too. The real strength of this album is the production. There's a lot of good stuff that I think would be missed if it wasn't mixed and mastered so well. The sound is super crisp, and the texture of the bass really comes through. 3/5

I would give this a 3.5 after an initial listen. I think there is potential here.

It's technically fine but it's just so long. By minute 50 you get it and it still goes on for 20 more minutes. The metal albums submitted by users have all been pretty meh. There has got to be some good metal out there. Just not being submitted. My personal rating: 2.5/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Two things. One, I feel like Australian music was given short shrift in the original list, and I'm glad that it is getting rectified here... But this wasn't hugely for me - if I had to pick a hugely underrated Aussie metal band, I think I'd have gone with Voyager.

Really good modern prog metal album, not my cup of tea but can help but respect the complexity of the music on show here.

Didn’t float my boat, but didn’t sink it either.

I should love this, and it's a solid album, vocals don't grab me though unfortunately. A bit of a harsh 3* from me

I can admit that some songs really got me. This was very impressive for a band I had never heard of. However, again, the error of going too far. Although it has enormous potential, it starts to sound too generic after more than 1 hour of listening. Even with a great closing song, it still lay in the valley of the 3-stars

Meh metal

Not bad, and better than much of this ilk, because of some arty-ish resonances, but too bassy-bouncy in that alt-rock/nu-metal kinda way. Ultimately, meh, and one gets put off by the over-seriousness and intensity this lot is into.

2009, are you sure?

This LP can’t figure out what it wants to be – there’s a great instrumental basis, and the band clearly knows how to execute on some decent prog metal, but there’s too many detours into other genres and influences to allow this album time (even at 80 minutes long!) to develop a sound of its own. Could’ve gone for more of the growling, glassy bass lines and heavier tracks, and the thin vocals didn’t help either.

What if butt rock but Australian?

I don't really like this type of vocal performances, but the musicians are great. I don't feel like the songs get any better throughout the album and they stay very average.

Ah yes more cringe emo music exactly what I asked for. Wasn’t as terrible as some of the other ones I guess.

Sound asleep

Oh well. Some kind of watered down or neutered version of Tool. Or like, a mix of Pearl Jam and prog dirges, with nü-metal artificial flavors sprinkled here and there, topped by meandering melodic vocal lines that almost feel like they're taking a page out of Muse's book in their all-too-clean delivery. Let's just say that your appreciation of *Sound Awake* will strongly depend on your mileage on the rather controversial bands and music styles I've just quoted here. But as far as I'm concerned, I tend to prefer prog-metal that feels a little more intense, abrasive and dangerous (think Mastodon or even Gojira). The production values sure are impressive and on point given the music genre. And the musicianship is beyond reproach. I just wish Karnivool didn't use so many major chords and harmonies as the basis of their songs. In several salient moments during the course of this record, they remember they should break that sort of borderline-cheesy harmonic grid and explore more off-kilter chord progressions. But honestly, it often feels like a very calculated afterthought. Like, nothing that occurs before gives you the feeling those more original chords will be used at some point. Good compositional work implies more than lining up parts that don't necessarily go with each other. And given that the pop songwriting isn't that memorable either, we're not left with much, eventually, in spite of some of the songs' lengths. One tiny detail in opener "Simple Boy" perfectly encapsulates why I can't fully take this album seriously, by the way. It's the way this opener rips off Led Zeppelin's drum part in "When The Levee Breaks" in the middle of the song. I can quite picture the band members telling each other they need something specific for the middle of the composition and the drummer looking suddenly struck by lightning: "Hey guys, I have an idea, we just need to steal that drum part from that other band! They're a bit niche, don't worry, no one will notice the theft". Lol. I know that Led Zep were huge thieves themselves, but c'mon guys! The seams are so visible here! Also, what kind of a name is 'Karnivool'??? Like Carnival and Cool. With a "K" because of... Korn??? Even the band's name sounds like unnecessary patchwork. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes (5 + 2) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 13 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 17 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 33 (including this one)

It's not bad but so derivative it's staggering. Pleasant ballads building up in tempo, well played, sung and produced. Average.

I started and stopped this so many times Apple Music tried to give me Karnivool radio. Never got into it never finished. High brow metal

Nah, did not like this