Artists: KARNIVOOL, TesseracT, Car Bomb
Venue: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia (Boonwurrung country)
Date: 24th July 2026
Review by: Dave Collopy
Photos by: Ben Eldström
This is my first solo review in a long time, and what a show to write about.
Car Bomb I’ve only known for a short amount of time, Tesseract I’ve listened to since their inception but I’d fallen out with keeping up with their most recent releases, and Karnivool I’ve listened to since 2009 and have NEVER looked back. Karnivool are that band that whenever I sit down to practice drums or guitar I always end up playing a couple of songs. Every. Single. Time.
Car Bomb
Car Bomb walked onto the stage at Margaret Court Arena in pitch-black conditions, with their droning entrance music cutting out, right before the first notes of Blindsides kicked in, stunning the crowd instantly, with incredibly interesting usage of time modulation, varying tempos and time signatures throwing the crowd for a loop. I was watching the whole show from the side of the stage. Watching the crowd attempt to headbang to this band was pretty hilarious to watch, just when they thought they found the one, it moved out from under their feet.
The guitar playing and tones coming out of Greg Kubacki are unlike anything else I’ve ever heard. The amount of pitch modulation and timing effects going on are next level. The Meshuggah levels of polyrhythms are astounding to watch and hear live. Some of the guitar effects sound like laser guns going off, or police sirens in the distance. He manages to create a feeling of panic better than most other metal guitarists I’ve heard.
The bass by Jon Modell has such a gnarly but still clean and audible bass tone. Keeping in perfect sync with the drums for all the time fuckery going on seems like no easy feat with this style of music.
The drummer Elliot Hoffman is one of those frustrating drummers to watch. He makes everything he’s playing look so insanely easy, like there’s no effort being exerted. Even though the patterns and beats he’s playing are incredibly complex and technical. Expert super clean double kicks, blast beats so clean you could eat off them (even though they sounded so filthy).
And the vocalist, Michael Dafferner’s voice is so damn powerful live. It’s amazing on their recording but hits differently live. Going expertly from insanely heavy screams with cleaner, almost Deftones-ish style cleans, he shows a mastery of his own voice and knows exactly when to hit the hardest.
Go check out Car Bomb as soon as you possibly can; you’ll be amazed at the technical proficiency shown off by these guys.
“PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW” Dissect Yourself – Car Bomb
Direct quote.
TesseracT
Tesseract were up next. The last time I saw these guys was all the way back in 2011 after their first album One was released. It was at the Hi-Fi (now Max Watts) playing with Periphery and Twelve Foot Ninja. Thinking back on it now, I realise just how big of a treat that show was, an absolutely legendary lineup. Seeing them perform now, you can see just how far they’ve come.
This band has ALWAYS had their sound perfected. The guitars, bass, and drum tones were spot on. Which I actually wasn’t expecting at a venue this size. The sound the whole night was phenomenal.
The guitars from Acle Kahney and James Monteith go from being so clean, compressed, and glassy to having a heavier tone that isn’t super overdriven, but has just enough drive to give an insane punch and lets chords ring out without dying out super fast.
The drums from Jay Postones are and have always been some of the cleanest playing I’ve ever heard. The mastery of timing and ghost notes that flow out of him is reason alone to get excited about seeing Tesseract live.
The bass from Amos Williams is another one of those situations where it’s just annoying to watch. Again, some of the cleanest playing from any bassist to date. The combination of insanely clean and defined but punchy as fuck bass tones, combined with the mastery of playing, is beyond insane to watch.
And of course, the vocals from Dan Tompkins are so defined and expertly executed. Having an uncanny ability to flow in and out of gentle cleans and powerful screams, bringing his own distinct style to the forefront of this band.
There were also two backup vocalists I haven’t managed to find the names of. They added gorgeous harmonies and texture to the music that further pushed the music to another sonic level.
I was so happy to hear Nocturne live. I’ve been obsessed with that song ever since it came out all the way back in 2013. It was a real treat to finally hear it live.
In addition to the amazing auditory feel of this band, the projections and animations they had playing behind them added a very cyberpunk feel to the whole experience. With perfectly timed cuts and beautiful animations of samurai duelling behind the band as they all stood perfectly still and continued to play during these sections, just to be able to pay more attention to the artistry of the animations was such a great idea.
Keep an eye and ear out for everything Tesseract are doing. Their incredibly hard-hitting and uplifting sound is only going to drive them further towards legendary status when it comes to progressive metal bands. They’re only going to continue to head upwards.
KARNIVOOL
Now, Karnivool is a band I’ve seen a few times before. Every single time I do, they just get better and better.
The first time I saw them was in 2014 at the now-demolished Palace Theatre with Sleepmakeswaves and Dead Letter Circus. I miss that place, I think we all do.
The second time was in 2019 for the Praxis tour at the Pier Bandroom in Frankston.
Now, in 2026 at the Margaret Court Arena. Which is an astronomical venue jump.
After the release of their first album in 13 years with In Verses, it was so exciting to finally see new music live from the band who defined my early adult years of Australian progressive metal.
Their stage setup was really interesting, with the drums on a massive riser in the middle of the stage, and the guitar cabs running along either side. Two other risers either side for the other members to come and go from, and even some extra special guests to appear on later in the set.
Starting the set with my favourite track from In Verses, Ghost. With red lights flickering and smoke absolutely billowing from each side of the stage, Steve Judd’s soft drum rhythms introduce us to the almighty sound that Karnivool produces as the band kicks in with HUGE tones from Jon Stockman’s iconic bass sound. Jon’s probably been my biggest inspiration when it comes to playing bass. His feel that’s never over the top or too complicated, but perfectly fits the song, while still being clearly audible on its own in the mix is amazing to see and hear.
The combination of the two guitars courtesy of Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking creates a beautiful wall of sound that has an entire range of musical tonality that’s entirely their own. Everything from soft, beautiful clean guitars to walls of noise, fuzzed-out chords, and everything in between creates the signature Karnivool sound I absolutely adore.
Of course, the iconic vocal style of Ian Kenny whose voice is legendary in Australian music, with his other project Bird of Tokyo heading more into the pop rock genre, it’s great to see him showing off his versatility and being a shining voice for Australian music on a worldwide scale.
From the soaring vocals with crowd participation of Simple Boy, to the gut-punching bass riffs of Goliath, the set began with crowdsurfing almost instantly. I think I saw the same woman with bright purple hair crowd surf to the front at least ten times over the course of the night.
There were a TON of cameras all around the stage, which they used to project the members with all kinds of glitchy effects and interesting animations onto the giant screen behind the band. Giving everyone in the venue an insane visual show no matter how far back they were sitting. During the song Ghost, there were a few rolls of toilet paper being thrown around in the crowd on the floor. Later on in the set, there was even a guy doing backflips in the middle of the crowd! Really seemed to impress Ian too, as he called out for people to buy this guy a beer.
Karnivool is one of the biggest sounding bands I’ve ever heard. Insanely loud but still impeccably mixed. Along with one of the best setlists I could have possibly asked for.
Over halfway through the set, to introduce the song Animation, a harp was brought to the stage and played with technical beauty by Michelle Smith that added so much texture to the absolutely gorgeous song.
Something I NEVER expected to hear live was the Empire Horns version of Roquefort. I was so damn excited when I noticed a trumpet and trombone appear on stage. It just elevated the song so much into sounding like it should be the intro song to a 007 movie.
And of course, the grand finale with the introduction of Grant Scroggie on BAGPIPES for Salva, whose chorus had the whole crowd screaming the lyrics and tearing up at the sheer beauty of the music.
Overall, I was at first skeptical of seeing a band I love so much at an arena. I was expecting it to sound shit and for the crowd to be super obnoxious, but it was so much of a better experience than I could have ever asked for.
Great sound the whole night, FANTASTIC lineup of bands, and a crowd that was amazingly engaged with the music, feeling every single moment and responding with overwhelming love for every band.
Gig Gallery:
