Review KARNIVOOL ‘The Decade of Sound Awake’

Karnivool, one of Australia’s most important alternative and progressive rock bands, was ready to go for the ‘Decade of Sound Awake’ tour, a road trip with concerts that focus on the ‘Sound Awake’ album from 2009. Since the plans were disrupted by a pandemic, Karnivool decided to go live in another shape and form.

The band mobilized the full touring production and brough the show on stage at Heath Ledger Theatre in their hometown Perth. Without audience and in front of an empty room, Karnivool played a 16 songs featuring set that included the entire ‘Sound Awake’ album.

The concert, that took place on May 12^th, was streamed into the world and allowed fans to at least have the feeling to be connected to band and music. ‘Sound Awake’ was played in chronological order which means that Karnivool started with ‘Simple Boy’ into the show, followed by ‘Goliath’ and ‘New Day’. Visually, the beginning of the event was unusual since the band performed behind a half-transparent curtain. I assume this would have been also the case with real live shows but in this context, it symbolizes in a way the absurd reality. You know there is a band on stage, you can hear their music and still everything seems unreal and blurry, as reality these days. From stage the view was unusual too, playing towards a curtain with no audience and people behind it. However, that setup allows some interesting light features and the moment the curtain falls at the end of ‘New Day’, the view is open towards an empty room.

That Karnivool stands for well-executed alternative rock that includes various layers isn’t something new and is underlined for a next time by this release. What is missing is the live atmosphere, something all live stream concerts have in common. No applause, no screaming fans and instead an awkward silence between songs. As mentioned, this has nothing to do with this release but also has an impact on ‘The Decade of Sound Awake’. Fans of the band, who might have been even part of the streaming event, get a lot of Karnivool with this release. On the other hand, such a concert can’t replace a real show and a live release of a real concert. And regardless of the stellar music by Karnivool, concerts like this one showcase so painfully how much everyone misses real concerts.

No rating

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