Live & Loud: KARNIVOOL - Live In Brisbane!
A CAR BOMB and a TESSERACT Walk into a KARNIVOOL…
Saturday 25th July 2026
Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Tracy McLaughlan
Riverstage is famous for letting Mother Nature contribute to shows – the downpour during SLAYER’s last Brisbane performance of Raining Blood lives rent-free in my head – but fortunately my disposable poncho stays folded up in my back pocket tonight. It’s one of my favourite venues, because it’s one of the few places I can see bands without worrying that my 6’7” frame isn’t blocking people’s view, as the incline of the ground is steep enough that every short punter can find somewhere to see. If it wasn’t for their weird rule about cloaking bags, it would be the best large venue in Brisbane. There is no line for merch, and I have a piping hot kransky in my hands barely thirty seconds after paying for it, so I’m in a pretty damn good mood when we take our place at the edge of the concrete for the first ever Brisbane performance of CAR BOMB.
Pictured: CAR BOMB
Originally set to come down supporting ANIMALS AS LEADERS, when the tour got cancelled, a common sentiment in the comments was “can CAR BOMB still come?” Aussie fans of their deranged mathcore have been waiting a long time for the chance to see them – it was 2007 when I got my first taste of their album Centralia – so when the lights go down, the faithful let out a massive roar. They aren’t to everyone’s tastes tonight – CAR BOMB are orders of magnitude heavier than KARNIVOOL and TESSERACT, and a lot less accessible – but for the loyal fans gathered in the pit, they are utterly spellbinding when Blindsides stutters to life, and everyone finds something different to bang their heads to.
Pictured: CAR BOMB
Each track goes off like a flashbang grenade, leaving us disorientated and reeling as our equilibrium is disrupted and the world swirls around us like a bad bout of vertigo. That, I was expecting. What I was not expecting was the humour, as frontman Michael Dafferner makes numerous self-depreciating cracks about his weight, reassuring Riverstage that he’s only wearing black because it hides his man-boobs, and he even ends a track with a few bars of CULTURE CLUB’s Karma Chameleon. This was incredible, and I hope they come back soon. And Michael, that’s enough of that negative self-talk – you look awesome!
Pictured: CAR BOMB, looking awesome.
Up next, it’s time for some original recipe djent with TESSERACT from the U.K., who first appeared on my radar with their stunning debut One back in 2011. TESSERACT were turning sacred geometry into album artwork before it became a genre cliché, and it seems like they seek to remind us of that by burning those shapes into our retinas with a weapons-grade lighting setup. The lasers feel almost blinding, and after opening track Natural Disaster I admit defeat and put my sunglasses on, and I can’t help but smile as I look around the crowd and see that I’m not the only one.
Pictured: TESSERACT
The band are in incredible form, with Kat Marsh & Rio Hellyer on backing vocals to give their gorgeous progressive metal extra flourishes, and whoever oversaw their audio-visual presentation deserves many, many beers. Whenever I’m in an outdoor arena I wonder what we must look like from way up above – a sea of cheering dots in the glowing wedge of light coming from the stage, strobing and flickering as the music booms. Whoever might be watching from up high could probably still hear the roar of the crowd as TESSERACT close with Juno and take their final bow.
Pictured: TESSERACT
Sometime around 2007, I had an awkward phone interaction with Ian Kenny while attempting to do an interview for BIRDS OF TOKYO’s first album, and it’s been a running joke amongst people who know me that I’ve held it against him for almost twenty years. I’m telling you this story now to emphasise that if KARNIVOOL’s set tonight was anything short of spellbinding, I would have gleefully jumped on it to keep the joke going … but after 90 minutes onstage, Ian has given me no ammunition. They really are that good.
Pictured: KARNIVOOL
Formed in the musical and physical isolation of Perth, their album Themata dropped when I was writing for a street press, and they blew my mind. Now, armed with a fantastic new album In Verses, they are closing their tour in Brisbane, and from the opening bars of Ghost, the crowd is transfixed. The sound is immaculate, and the visuals projected behind them are stunning, turning live video into shimmering, distorted textures that twinkle in vivid light. Simple Boy gets a predictably huge response, and new tracks Drone, Conversations and Animation are stunning, featuring lush flourishes from harpist Michelle Smith.
Pictured: KARNIVOOL
Ian introduces the next number by saying that they’ve been banging their heads to it for almost twenty years, and as they kick off Themata, the crowd roars, and the mosh swirls while bathed in brilliant light. The off-kilter stomp of Roquefort is tight as a drum, before New Day draws their set to a close … but we know we’re not done yet. They reemerge and plunge into a gorgeous rendition of Opal, before Salva sees Grant Scroggie emerge with a set of bagpipes under his arm, and they bring the night to a stunning end. Every aspect of the show tonight is polished and delivered with consummate professionalism, and you can expect to be reading about this show a lot in December when people start releasing their top-ten lists.
Bravo, KARNIVOOL … I’ll get you next time, Ian!
Pictured: KARNIVOOL
Check out the full gallery here.