Karnivool + Tesseract | Melbourne | Margaret Court Arena | 24th July
Thirteen years is a long time to wait for a record. Still, following the release of their ARIA #1 album In Verses, Karnivool brought their tour to Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena for a night which appeared massive before a single note was even struck.
Opening the evening were US mathcore disruptors Car Bomb, who wasted no time tearing through an onslaught of shifting tempos, crushing polyrhythms, and dizzying guitar work. Playing music that intentionally breaks every conventional rule of timing requires jaw-dropping skill, and Car Bomb were unreal, locking in with a level of clinical tightness that set the bar sky-high right out of the gate.
Next up were UK djent leaders Tesseract, and seeing them step out onto a proper arena stage seemed like a monumental moment. Their intricate, heavy grooves and Daniel Tompkins’ soaring vocals demand room to breathe, and seeing them command a venue of this scale was incredible. What really elevated their set was the visual presentation. The giant backdrop screen behind the stage washed the arena in glitchy, cinematic visuals and light displays that synced down to the millisecond with the band’s razor-sharp performance. Hearing tracks like ‘War of Being’ ring out with immense weight proved beyond doubt that Tesseract’s expansive sound well and truly deserves a big arena stage.
Historically, indoor arenas can be a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to heavy music, but the sound quality at Margaret Court Arena was phenomenal. Every booming bass line, complex drum fill, and subtle guitar nuance cut through with crystal clarity and without losing any of that raw, visceral punch.
That immaculate acoustic mix provided the perfect launching pad for Karnivool. Stepping out to a roaring crowd and drenched in a sinister red glow for opener ‘Ghost’, the Perth quintet delivered a staggeringly tight performance. Ian Kenny’s live vocals remain unmatched in Australian rock, effortlessly riding the crushing, layered wall of sound built by Drew Goddard, Mark Hosking, Jon Stockman, and Steve Judd.
Karnivool’s production was equally breathtaking. The massive LED screen behind the drum riser transformed the stage into an enveloping visual trip, blending atmospheric graphics and moody lighting which seemed perfectly suited to the music’s emotional highs and lows. Live staples like ‘Goliath’ and ‘Themata’ triggered absolute chaos on the floor, while new tracks from In Verses landed with huge authority. By the time the bagpipes resounded throughout the arena during ‘Salva’, the entire room was completely spellbound.
Seeing Australian heavy royalty like Karnivool alongside Tesseract dominate a venue of this magnitude backed by brilliant visuals and acoustic precision was something special. These bands have built soundscapes far too huge for club rooms; they belong on the big stage, and Melbourne showed up to celebrate every second of it.
