KARNIVOOL

Asymmetry

karnivool.com

Proggy hard rock is alive and well in the Land of Oz. On their third album, this Aussie quintet makes a fussy, fidgety racket, fashioning epic jams from disparate parts. Like Tool before them, Karnivool shift from slashing to serene with remarkable ease, and in a neat bit of, well, symmetry, Asymmetry works best when the band is at its most asymmetrical and disjointed. Whereas seven-minute-plus steady-burners “Sky Machine” and “Alpha” tend to drag, the more dynamic likes of “Nachash” and “The Refusal” exemplify what these expert players can achieve when they get worked up. The fastest bits of “A.M. War” might give Thom Yorke a blueprint for his eventual trash-metal side project.