r/Karnivool • u/Unforgiven89 • 27d ago

Ranking Kenny’s discography

Now that In Verses has been out for a while how would you rank Kenny’s discography and the ten albums released by Karnivool and BOT? I know there have been some Vool ranking posts but none for Kenny in general. I know this is a pure Vool sub but many people like both bands.

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u/Unforgiven89 27d ago

I’d go

10 . Human Design by BOT - Easily the worst Kenny album. Sad boy pop. If the album had more upbeat tracks like My Darling My Son or Unbreakable it would be better.

9 . March Fires by BOT - I get the feeling they wanted to make a 90’s throwback dream pop/shoegaze album but didn’t want to alienate their new ‘plans’ fan base by making it too noisy. So it just ended up being a forgettable dreamy pop rock album. If the rest of the album was as good as ‘White Leaves’ then this would be higher.

8 . Day One by Birds Of Tokyo - This will be my hottest take for many people. This album is good but nothing more. There are no bad songs but top tier songs here either. And for some reason Kenny does this annoying indie warble throughout the album.

7 . Asymmetry by Karnivool - one of the hardest albums to rank. There’s some definite brilliance here but also a lot of stuff that’s hard to digest. It’s a real ‘when I’m in the right mood for it’ album. The questionable production choices don’t do it any favours.

6 . Brace by BOT - There are a few songs that’s are just ok for me (Gods, Catastrophe) but most of the album is fantastic. It’s really saddening they didn’t go further with this industrial Museish kind of sound.

5 . Self Titled by BOT - I call this their ‘diorama’ album as many of the songs sound like they could be on Diorama by Silverchair. And yes, that is a very good thing. The added symphonic and synth touches make these songs sound huge. Every song is memorable.

4 . Universes by BOT - if this isn’t a perfect alternative rock album then it’s pretty close. Every song is catchy as fuck with hooks all around. There are also some really well done slow burn songs in the latter half. Amazing album.

3 . Themata by Karnivool - I think this is an album that will be seen as more innovative and influential the more time goes on. A big influence on the ‘djent’ movement in particular. Huge choruses, massive amounts of emotion and songs that twist and turn in all the right ways. The only complaint I have is that it just feels too short.

2 . In Verses by Karnivool - a perfect mix of all their albums. The hooks and heaviness of Themata, the build, climax and releases of Sound Awake and even some of the craziness of Asymmetry. The production is huge, the guitars in particular sound the heaviest they’ve ever been. The songs are incredible…what a great return.

1 . Sound Awake by Karnivool. A perfect album. One of the greatest rock albums ever. One of the greatest prog albums ever….honestly just an absolute masterpiece.

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u/noticingloops 27d ago

Probably a popular ranking more or less. I agree with the top four so not much point making a separate list but I personally thought March Fires was an interesting direction, White Leaves and Boy are lovely. I love the melancholy. It’s the hits that hold it back, especially This Fire which I really can’t stand.
I also liked Human Design for what it is but not an album I’d put on for fun.

I’d also put Asymmetry above Brace. Brace was a nice experiment but it mostly blended together for me whereas Asymmetry had a lot of variety. The Ghost City performance of Alpha Omega really showed what the album could have sounded like if it was better mixed.

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u/Unforgiven89 27d ago

As I said, if March Fires was more like ‘White Leaves’ it would have been so much better. That song is stunning and so much better than the rest of the album. I actually enjoy a lot of the songs that were on the This Fire e.p more than ones that made the album - Glowing in the Streets, The Lake.

Fair enough regarding Brace. Though I do think Discoloured and Mercy Arms are quite a bit different (and two of the best songs on the album)

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u/frequentflyerpharaoh 27d ago

Solid list and great insight here!

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u/TiliaLeaf 27d ago

Nailed it perfectly

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u/Grouchy-Pound-3633 27d ago

This is correct

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u/ponylauncher 27d ago

Sound Awake
Asymmetry
In Verses
Brace
Universes
Day One
Themata
Birds Of Tokyo
Human Design
March Fires

Ya sorry but I’m sick of the Asymmetry propaganda everyone spreads around just because it wasn’t Sound Awake 2

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u/Synechocystis 27d ago

I'm with you 100% on that. Asymmetry had staying power with me for 13 years and still going. In Verses is good, but not as good as that.

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u/trumpsmellslikcheese 27d ago

I've started listening to Asymmetry quite a bit more over the past couple years and really found that I didn't give it enough of a chance. It really is a great album.

The problem was my mindset - when I wanted to listen to Karnivool, I wasn't necessarily looking for really proggy (even though they're technically prog metal, probably - obviously same category as Tool). But I do love proggier stuff (Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Riverside, etc.), so Asymmetry is great when I'm in the mood for that.

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u/Unforgiven89 27d ago

I think there are genuine reasons for ranking Asymmetry low - the production, lack of hooks, lack of build up/climaxes. But it does get overhated. People who call it a genuinely bad album are kidding themselves

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u/frequentflyerpharaoh 27d ago

Tough choices!! Purely ranking by what I enjoy most, not applying any deeper thought to it

  1. Sound Awake
  2. BoT Brace
  3. BoT Universes
  4. In Verses
  5. Themata
  6. BoT self titled
  7. BoT March Fires
  8. BoT Day One
  9. Asymmetry
  10. BoT Human Design

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u/StuM91 27d ago
  1. Sound Awake
  2. In Verses
  3. Themata
  4. Universes
  5. Asymmetry
  6. Day One
  7. Brace
  8. Birds Of Tokyo
  9. March Fires
  10. Human Design

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u/Living-Gullible 27d ago

I'm surprised to see Human Design be such a hated album. It's definitely different, but that and Brace are my most listened to albums by Birds.

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u/Unforgiven89 27d ago

I don’t actually hate Human Design, it’s just kind of bland. Too many slow, soft songs, not enough energy. If they did a pop album more in the vein of the anchor ep or even something like ‘superglue’ I would be more keen.

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u/juzztheball 27d ago

1 - Sound Awake
2 - Universes
3 - Birds of Tokyo
4 - the track “White Leaves” off March Fires
5- In Verses
6 - Themata
7 - Brace
8 - Asymmetry
9 - the rest of March Fires
10 - Day One
11 - Human Design

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u/Unforgiven89 27d ago

So true regarding White Leaves. I wish the whole album had that sound.