In 1996, Kenny began by recruiting two of his high school classmates (Andrew Brown/Brett McKenzie) to play Carcass and Nirvana covers at several gigs around Perth. At this time, both Karnivool's current bassist and lead guitarist were attending a conservatorium to study jazz guitar and drums respectively. In 1998, Andrew Goddard joined Karnivool on bass, and from there they began writing original material. Soon Andrew "Drew" Goddard was switched to lead guitar, Andrew Brown and Brett McKenzie were replaced by Jon Stockman (bass) and Ray Hawking (percussion). The band have since released several singles and two EPs, Themata and most recently their sophomore record, Sound Awake. Currently Karnivool consists of Ian Kenny on lead vocals (also one quarter of Birds of Tokyo), Andrew "Drew" Goddard on lead guitar, Mark Hosking on rhythm guitar (both a part of Revolucion Street and an accompaniment for The Cat Empire while they are on tour), Jon Stockman on bass (one fifth of Floating Me) and Steve Judd (originally the drummer for Hope Here Gone which has now disbanded, replaced Hawking in 2004 as a "permanent gun for hire"). Goddard and Stockman also contributed guitar and bass parts to Pendulum's record Hold Your Colour released in 2005.
Themata: Their debut album was named after Themata, an old Greek word; the plural of Thema. A Thema is a gut assumption or intuition about the workings of the world or life itself, a philosophy you can’t prove with hard evidence, but something you instinctively know is right and are willing to back. For the recordings of Themata, they used guitars tuned in the tuning of B-F#-B-G-B-E, a hybrid tuning of Dropped-B (low strings) and Standard E (high strings). Guitarist Andrew Goddard said that this was because he forgot the high strings while detuning and that he liked the complexity. Andrew "Drew" Goddard wrote the tracks for Themata as well as playing drums throughout the recording of the album, he commented too that he often plays guitar like he does drums. Karnivool only actually played the songs off Themata together as a band after the album was recorded, according to Drew. The record was not written with any real foresight, which is evident in many of the song titles and lyrics (Roquefort is actually a strong smelling French cheese, Mauseum is a word "from the depths of Jon's mind" (Drew Goddard) and C.O.T.E. means Center of the Earth), and Karnivool's writing process was dysfunctional and slow going.
Sound Awake: After returning from the US, and completing their slot in the 2008 Big Day Out, the band headed back into the studio to write their follow-up to Themata.
In an interview with X-Press Magazine, guitarist Andrew Goddard said that the new album was a huge step up from Themata. He also said that the writing process of the new record had been more of a collaborative group effort by the band than previous works, and that they were going to go into the studio with a new recording strategy: that is, trying to focus less on the minute details, and put together a more natural sounding album. Karnivool released their long-awaited second album on June 5, 2009.
During live performances in the Aeons Tour, they played three new songs, titled "Goliath", "Deadman" and "Pearogram", as well as "New Day", which had been played at previous shows. At their performance at Homebake in 2008, they debuted a fifth new song entitled "Set Fire to the Hive". The new songs appeared to have a more mature vibe, but still bore resemblance to the band's other work. The album was one of the most anticipated Australian releases for 2009. In an interview with Channel V, Ian Kenny stated that after the success of the Aeons Tour, the band's next tour would be based on a similar layout which brings a new impression on the typical rock show.
On the 26 April 2009, two days before schedule, the band's first single from Sound Awake, "Set Fire to the Hive", was released on the band's MySpace page. The video for the single, confirmed by the band earlier, was released on the 9 May 2009. Sound Awake was set to be released internationally in early 2010.
Sound Awake entered and peaked 2nd on the ARIA charts, following this, just over a month after the release the band announced via their MySpace Sound Awake had gone 'Gold'.
Featherweight
Karnivool Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As if I’m falling away from something your home
This other shit has got to stop
I’m popping up inside me brain
What you can and you will see to
I’m taking back what’s mine and yours
What you can and you deny
This pain is instinct
You’re stepping back, your stepping back
You’re stepping back in the real world
Come on bring it back, I wanna give it back
You’ll take it back in the real world
Stop me and you’re pleased to do it
I’m the lyrical wizard, ripping up this pad.
What you say is nothing meaning
I’m the cop, the saint, the primate
Time to listen, to come and change you
But you take it, but you won’t break this pain
But what you can and you deny
The pain is instinct
You’re stepping back, your stepping back
You’re stepping back in the real world
Come on give it back, just bring it back
You’re stepping back in the real world
I’m the only, yes the only
I’m the only taste for your true mouth
I’m the only, yes the only
I’m the only taste for your true mouth
For reach I stay inside
Would you walk away, don’t hide
To reach I stay inside
But now I’m feeling you
I don’t come around, anymore because of you
Mama tell me why I’ve been, upset to this point in
Mama tell me why, Mama tell me why,
Mama tell me why, Mama tell me why,
Swear you
Somebody yell, where there’s problem I know it’s true
So you lie and I stare, who gave you my space here
I don’t need this shit it’s not alright
When you walk away and you find
I don’t need this shit it’s not alright
When you walk away, yes you walk away you’ll find…
Tell em all not to get inside
You are always gonna be in my insides
You are always gonna be in my insides
You are always gonna be in my insides
Kiss of the cruel, would you show us a break
Swear you
The lyrics of Karnivool's song Featherweight seem to explore the internal turmoil of the singer. The first verse suggests that the singer is trying to get away from something negative in their life, but this "other shit" keeps popping up in their brain causing them pain. They are determined to take back control and overcome this pain, however denying it only makes it instinctual. The chorus seems to indicate that the singer wants to come back to reality, to stop living in their head and take back control of their life. They want to give back what they have taken and start taking steps forward instead of backwards.
The second verse implies that the singer is trying to communicate their struggle through their music, though it may not mean anything to others. They are trying to bring change in the lives of others through their words. They acknowledge that the pain they are feeling is inevitable, but they want to overcome it, and they may be the only one who can. The bridge has a melancholy tone; the singer is trying to reach out to someone and seek their help, but they feel that the person is avoiding them. They are trying to understand why this person is causing them pain and make sense of their situation.
The song is quite poetic and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, but it seems to be discussing the internal battle of overcoming pain and taking control of one's life. It also seems to highlight the struggle of being misunderstood by others and trying to communicate through art. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the desire to come back to reality and not get lost in one's thoughts.
Line by Line Meaning
Down with the heavy trip, feel the undertow
Feeling weighed down by something that is pulling me under
As if I’m falling away from something your home
It feels like I'm drifting away from what used to be my home
This other shit has got to stop
I can't keep dealing with all these other problems
I’m popping up inside me brain
My thoughts keep repeating and won't go away
What you can and you will see to
You have the ability to see and understand what's going on
I’m taking back what’s mine and yours
I'm reclaiming what belongs to me and you
What you can and you deny
You know what's happening but choose to ignore it
This pain is instinct
The hurt I'm feeling is a natural response to what's happening
You’re stepping back, your stepping back
You're retreating from reality
You’re stepping back in the real world
You're losing touch with reality
Come on bring it back, I wanna give it back
I want to regain control and give back what's not mine
Stop me and you’re pleased to do it
You enjoy stopping me from being successful
I’m the lyrical wizard, ripping up this pad
I'm really good at writing lyrics and creating music
What you say is nothing meaning
Your words are empty and meaningless
I’m the cop, the saint, the primate
I am someone who can enforce the rules, be good, and have animalistic instincts
Time to listen, to come and change you
It's time for you to listen and change your ways
But what you can and you deny, The pain is instinct
You know what's going on but choose to ignore it, causing more pain instinctively
I’m the only, yes the only, I’m the only taste for your true mouth
I am the only one who can truly satisfy you
For reach I stay inside, Would you walk away, don’t hide
I'm reaching out to you, hoping you won't walk away or hide from me
But now I’m feeling you
But now I understand how you feel
Mama tell me why, Mama tell me why
Asking my mother why things have been difficult
Swear you
Promise me
Somebody yell, where there’s problem I know it’s true
Someone needs to speak up about these problems and acknowledge that they exist
So you lie and I stare, who gave you my space here
You're lying and I'm questioning who allowed you to be here
I don’t need this shit it’s not alright
I can't keep dealing with these problems, it's not okay
When you walk away and you find
If you leave, you'll see the error in your ways
Tell em all not to get inside
Warn everyone to stay away
You are always gonna be in my insides
You will always be a part of me
Kiss of the cruel, would you show us a break
The harshness of life is overwhelming, please give us a break
Contributed by Alexander E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ascension to 5th dimension ascend mofo's ascend
Love this song, it was my dogs favorite track of karnivools songs, he used to sing along and howl like crazy...
Salvatore Salemme
This song it's simply awesome!
Teskue
Awesome group, they ROCK!
Hugh Dalrymple
the Under rated-ness of this band makes me want to cry!! They are so bloody good!! how can their songs only have 23k views :C
Víctor Jesús Vallejo Rodriguez
I really felt the intro solo, and i wish that these sound were played again in the song :'c
Salvatore Salemme
My fav karnivool song, power and melodic, uaaaaah!!! Amazing band!!!
CizumTac
This is the Karnivool I fell in love with 💥
Mister Anderson design&inquiries
I like how their underground metal influences come out in this song.
Jason M
Great Band....going to see them April 5th in Toronto...OH YEAH!!!
Tammy
Thank you for sharing this!!!