Are Karnivool Back In The Studio?

Could Karnivool be finally recording their long-awaited, mythologised fourth album? Some fans on the band’s subreddit think they might be after seeing a new teaser post from drummer Steve Judd.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday (25 February), Judd shared a photo of his tasty-looking setup, tagging drumming companies Zildjian, Remo, Pearl Drums, and Vic Firth.

In the caption, Judd tagged producer Forrester Savell, who produced the Karnivool albums Themata (2005) and 2009’s Sound Awake. In addition to his Karnivool credits, Savell has worked with Aussie progressive metal and metalcore legends Sunk Loto, Make Them Suffer, The Omnific, Twelve Foot Ninja, and many more.

If Karnivool really have returned to the studio, they could be finally making the follow-up to 2013’s Asymmetry. Judd also used the hashtag #foxholestudios, referring to the Bayswater, WA recording studio.

Here’s what Judd wrote in the caption: “Digging in to these bad boys over the next few days. Looking forward to getting stuck in once again with Forrester Savell”, with a big grinning face emoji.

You can check out his post below.

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In late 2021, patient Karnivool fans were rewarded with the band’s first new music in almost ten years, dropping the single All It Takes.

The song was released alongside Karnivool’s headline slot at 2022’s Monolith Festival, where the group performed alongside the likes of Cog, Plini, sleepmakeswaves and Reliqa.

Could they be working on a new song before their next Australian tour, which is happening this May (and just sold out two dates)? We’ll have to wait and see.

In August 2022, vocalist Ian Kenny discussed the years-long wait between releases in an interview with The Music’s Rod Whitfield, explaining that Karnivool are “acutely aware that our processes, they take a hell of a lot of time to get right, and they cost a lot as well for the people involved.

“This is why it’s taken a long time to get to where we are, so long between drinks. Sometimes, we just hit these walls and these creative doubts, and we have to literally pull the fuckin’ band apart and try and get at it. And, of course, once you do that, you’ve got to rebuild, so it’s just a complex approach to us releasing what we consider good stuff for this band.”

In the same interview, he confirmed that there is “more new music coming” and there is a Karnivool record “sitting on the shelf”, but he couldn’t say when “or if there’s a timeline.”

“I would love to say there’s a record to come,” Kenny said. “We’ve got one sitting there on the shelf; it’s just a matter of actually getting it together and making it tangible.”