Karnivool Returns With First Single In Four Years: 'Drone'

Australian rock pioneers Karnivool are signaling a new era on the horizon with the single "Drone," the band's first release in four years.

The revelatory new track suggests the band has ascending yet another creative peak, a dozen years since its last studio album.

"Drone" eases us back into Karnivool's heavy and beautiful universe with a delicate, glassy verse riff foiled by colossal snare and kick drum and the syncopated ticking of a hi-hat. Bass and guitar legato offer a whisper of brassy swing while the vocals weave in a simple yet unexpected melodic thread.

Before we know it we're in a soaring chorus that demands to be sung by an arena. An uplifting vocal is backed by cascading guitar chording, with a snarling bassline and drums driving home the emphases. It collapses for a moment into dramatic ascending chromatics — a tease for the bridge later on — and we arrive in the second verse.

Listen to "Drone" via the player above.

Karnivool has been working on a follow-up to its 2013 Asymmetry album for years but has offered little detail on the new LP beyond an occasional photo from the studio to assure fans that sessions were, in fact, underway.

"This is for all the people who have supported Karnivool over the last 20 odd years," the band said in a statement. "Thank you for the patience, support and all the love you've shown us. We truly love what we do and are grateful beyond words to do it. We hope it makes you smile and smile big."

"Drone" was preceded by the single "All It Takes" in 2021.

Photo: Tobias Sutter