Karnivool @ The Hordern Pavilion, 24th July ’26

After thirteen long years between albums, there was always going to be enormous expectation surrounding Karnivool’s In Verses tour. Rather than simply celebrating the release of a long-awaited record, this run feels like a statement of intent from one of Australia’s most respected progressive bands. These are the biggest headline shows of their career, backed by an inspired international lineup featuring TesseracT from the UK and New York’s Car Bomb making their long overdue Australian debut. It is the kind of package that feels more like a progressive music festival squeezed into one evening than a standard headline tour, with every band bringing something uniquely different to the stage.

If anyone inside Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion wasn’t awake when Car Bomb walked onstage, they certainly were a few seconds later. Playing their very first Aussie shows, the New Yorkers exploded into their set with absolutely no hesitation. Their impossible rhythms, crushing riffs and abrupt tempo changes landed like controlled chaos, but the band executed every second with frightening precision.

Between songs they kept the chatter brief, with one comment standing out as they told the crowd it was their duty to warm everyone up for TesseracT. Mission accomplished. From the opening note until the final breakdown it was completely unrelenting, a sonic assault that somehow managed to be both technically mind-bending and ridiculously fun. For many in the room this was a first encounter with Car Bomb, and judging by the reaction, it certainly won’t be the last.

TesseracT approached the stage in almost complete contrast. There was no grand entrance, barely even a greeting, just an immediate immersion into a stunning wall of sound and light. The British progressive giants let the music do the talking, delivering an audio and visual performance that was nothing short of mesmerising. The precision of the band was remarkable, with every lighting cue feeling like another instrument in the mix.

Speaking to several fans before the show who admitted they had bought tickets purely for TesseracT and knew very little about Karnivool, I suspect there are no plans for headline shows during this jaunt downunder? Even in a support slot, the set easily carried the weight of a headline performance, simply condensed into a shorter runtime. Frontman Daniel Tompkins eventually addressed the audience, giving a heartfelt thank you to everyone experiencing their first TesseracT show and thanking them for “giving us a chance.” By the applause that followed, I’d say that chance had paid off handsomely.

By the time Karnivool emerged, the anticipation inside the Hordern Pavilion had reached boiling point. The first thing to catch the eye was an unusually creative drum riser, positioned proudly in the centre of the stage in a distinctive V-shape pointing directly into the crowd, with speaker cabinets surrounding it to create a striking focal point. It was a clever design that immediately separated this production from the typical arena setup.

The visuals throughout the night were spectacular without ever feeling overbearing, complementing rather than distracting from the music. Unsurprisingly, the set leaned heavily into material from In Verses, opening with Ghost before dipping back to Sound Awake‘s Simple Boy. Back to the new album for Aozora and Drone.

From there on its a little blurry but I feel like we heard Goliath, We Are, Conversations, All It Takes and Animation, while never forgetting the songs that helped define the band. Themata and Roquefort ignited the room exactly as longtime fans hoped they would, before New Day delivered one of the evening’s most memorable moments with a harp player joining the band onstage. The comment from the bloke standing next to me summed it up perfectly when he laughed and described her as “the female Kirk Hammett,” a comparison that somehow made perfect sense in the moment.

The aptly selected encore of Opal and Salva (the closing two tracks from In Verses) provided an emotional conclusion to a night that celebrated both where Karnivool have come from and where they are heading next. This wasn’t a nostalgia tour. It was the confident return of a band with fresh music, renewed purpose and absolutely no intention of living in the past. The Hordern Pavilion was treated to one of the strongest progressive line-ups Australia has seen in years, and by the time the lights came up, it was hard to imagine anyone leaving feeling anything other than completely satisfied.