2013 is turning out to be quite a special year for Australian progressive metallers, Karnivool. A critically acclaimed new album Asymmetry adding significant numbers to an already burgeoning fan base, more side projects than is probably healthy for one band, a sold out homecoming Australian tour already under their belts AND several highly commended European festival appearances to boot, this is already turning out to be a pretty special year for the Aussies. Ghost Cult caught up with guitarist Mark Hosking in Melbourne to reflect on the band’s 2013 so far and the months ahead….
Mark, thanks for taking the time to speak with Ghost Cult- we really appreciate it
No worries mate, delighted to speak to you.
Likewise. Can we start off with an instant reflection on the Australian Tour that you have just completed then; how was it?
Amazing. The tour has been amazing. It’s been nice to come back to Oz, to come home, to come and play those towns that have really been our bread and butter over the past few years- it’s been good to see friends and family, too. There have been some great things about this tour that have been really important for us as a band. We’ve been able to play some really big rooms, some really beautiful venues like Melbourne Town Hall- I don’t know if you know that venue but, man, it’s awesome. It’s been really good that we can bring a really big production and really show our fans what we have been trying to do with Asymmetry. Asymmetry is a big record and by playing these types of venues has meant we have been able to show the record off in the way that we have wanted to- the response has been awesome and, given the record has only been out a short time, it’s felt really special.
That’s a lovely segueway into my next question, Mark- Asymmetry sounds like a big leap forward from the band you were back in 2009 when you released Sound Awake. Was that a conscious decision?
Good question. I suppose in some ways, it was. We need to take a step back and go back into our history a little bit. Have a think about where the band were in our “formative years”. We had a few ideas about what we wanted to sound like with our own material and you get some of that on the debut album, Themata. By the time that I had joined the band (Hosking joined in 2003), that sound was becoming clearer and by the time we got to releasing Sound Awake (in 2009) we knew what we were doing and trying to achieve.
However, if I was to stand back and look at what we were doing then compared to what we are trying to do know then you could look back at Sound Awake and you could say that it does in places sound a little bit too well prepared; it’s like we have discovered a template and then we stick to it. Whilst that did work for us, I guess you could say that in places it sounds a little too produced and lacking the spontaneity that we have always loved to have as a group. So with Asymmetry we have sought to bring that back into the record.
How did you bring the record to life then- did it arrive fully formed?
The record started as two or three songs that we liked and then we just let things emerge and develop from there. With Asymmetry, whilst we didn’t set out for it to be a thematic album, that is pretty much what we have ended up with as a record. We think it is much more about what we are as a band and as musicians. In some ways, despite the fact that we have let the songs expand and breathe and speak for themselves, we have tried to go back to the core of what being in Karnivool is about; we have, like I said, tried to bring back the spontaneity of being in the band, of letting the music take us to different places.
Asymmetry has been four years in the making. What bands and artists were you listening to and getting inspiration from to bring this record about, either consciously or not?
Oh, loads. Loads. One of the great things about being in Karnivool is that as five guys we have very different backgrounds and very different tastes and that comes out when we get together and play. Of course, there are the bands that we all still love from the time that we first started playing together- bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. Oh and Tool, obviously- I had to say them didn’t, I? (laughs) But you know, I still love bands like Rage Against The Machine– bands that really excite you, bands with songs that really get under your skin. It might just be the one track but it’s that one track that gets you going.
With us, it’s a blessing that we have such a varied taste in music. You know, Steve (Judd, drums) loves his hip hop, Kenny (Ian Kenny, vocals) has got that pop sensibility thing going on, Drew and Stock (Andrew Goddard, guitar and Jon Stockman, bass) have that heavier stuff in their locker and I’m still passionate about the blues element in music so I’m sure that all of those influences found their way onto Asymmetry.
The other key element for us when recording this was to make the record sound much more like what we are like as a live band. I don’t mean that we tried to do all the record as one take but we did want to try and record an album that was much more representative of what we are like as a live outfit; we certainly made that a priority in the recording. If you think about what bands like Converge try and do with their records- then that was certainly part of our thinking too. Oh, and, you know, there is always going to be a part of this band that has an element of influence from Meshuggah in it, too (laughs). I think you can hear that on some of the heavier songs on the album but it’s not just about the heavy stuff. I have also been listening to a lot of James Blake. James Blake- yeah, he has certainly been an influence on me for this record. And Pink Floyd. And- oh man, there’s just so many!
On the live front, 2013 has seen you in Europe, taking in the festivals. How was that experience?
The festivals in Europe were just great. It was a chance to see so many great bands in one place and play with so many great bands. I love just how eclectic the festivals are; I love the people that go to festivals…
So what can European fans expect from the forthcoming tour in the Autumn?
They can expect Asymmetry and more. We have played a lot of the new album on this recent first leg of the tour in Australia and the response was immense. We have learned a lot though about what works and what doesn’t work and I guess you could say that the forthcoming tour is basically going to be Karnivool with the training wheels taken off! It’s going to be a great tour- we had a blast over in Europe earlier this year and we are really excited to be coming back to play more shows.
so we know about the tour; what else have you guys got planned for the next 12 months?
So, yeah, there’s the European tour, then we are back to Australia for some more live dates and maybe one or two festival dates in Oz during the early part of 2014. Much of this is to be confirmed to be honest but that looks like what we will be doing on the immediate horizon…
Mat Davies