Themata (album)

Themata is the debut full-length album by the Australian progressive rock band Karnivool. The album was released independently on 7 February 2005, and was distributed via MGM Distribution. The album was released in the United States on 10 April 2007 via Bieler Bros. Records and in the UK on 7 May 2008 on the Happy Go Lucky label.

Themata
Studio album by Karnivool
Released	7 February 2005
Recorded	2004; 2001 for "L1FEL1KE"
Genre	Alternative metal[1] nu metal[1] progressive metal[2]
Length	48:52
Label	MGM Distribution Bieler Bros. Records
Producer	Forrester Savell Karnivool
Karnivool chronology
Persona (2001) Themata (2005) Sound Awake (2009)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Decoy Music	[3]
The Metal Forge	[4]
OneMetal.com	[5]
PopMatters	[6]
sinister.com.au	[7]
Sputnikmusic	[8]
TuneLab Music	[9]

The album was well received in Australia, with Kerrang! Magazine describing it as "a ten-track journey of soaring melody".[10] Three singles were released from the album, "L1FEL1KE" in 2003, "Themata" and "Shutterspeed", both in 2005.

Background

Guitarist Drew Goddard wrote all of the album's songs and performed drums on every track, except for "L1fel1ke".[11]

"Roquefort" was initially supposed to be recorded with a horns section, but the band did not have time to do this during the recording of the album. Harry Angus and Kieran Conrau of the Cat Empire later recorded trumpet and trombone respectively for the single version of "Roquefort". This version has been played live on a few occasions, including at Rock-It 2005, during the Triple J Hottest 100 on 26 January 2007, and at the 2010 Melbourne Big Day Out.Drew Goddard said the following regarding "Change", stating "'Change' wasn’t originally conceived as a two part song.

We had written about 60% of "Change" as a whole piece and were desperately trying to finish it in preproduction for inclusion on Themata, as we thought it was shaping up to be an absolute cracker. Due to the nature of the song, the time needed to spend on it and the time we didn’t have we decided do the thing that annoyed everyone so much, and chop it at the peak of the climax, and then finish the 2nd part for inclusion the next album. The title "Change" seemed fitting as this was the last song (mostly) written during the Themata sessions and almost signaled what we thought could be a change of direction on the next album.… It seems we were pretty spot on going by the general feel of the new material. It just wouldn’t have found its place on Themata. [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Drew Goddard.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"C.O.T.E."	5:50
2.	"Themata"	5:40
3.	"Shutterspeed"	3:46
4.	"Fear of the Sky"	5:16
5.	"Roquefort"	4:38
6.	"L1FEL1KE"	4:40
7.	"Scarabs"	2:10
8.	"Sewn and Silent"	4:12
9.	"Mauseum"	3:54
10.	"Synops"	4:53
11.	"Omitted for Clarity"	0:20
12.	"Change (Part 1)"	3:28

Charts

Weekly charts

Charts (2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13]	41

Release details

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Australia	7 February 2005	Independent/MGM Distribution	CD	KARN001
United States	20 November 2007	Bieler Bros.	CD	70015
			Digital
United Kingdom	7 May 2008	Happy Go Lucky	CD	070015

Personnel

Karnivool

• Ian Kenny – lead vocals
• Drew Goddard – guitar, drums, backing vocals, string arrangements
• Mark Hosking – guitar, backing vocals
• Jon Stockman – bass

Additional

• Ray Hawkins – drums on track 6
• Novac Bull – additional vocals on track 2
• Leigh Miller – string arrangements on track 2
• Eve Silver – string arrangements on track 8
• Ezekiel Ox – whistling and castanets on track 5

References

1. Greenberg, Adam. "Sound Awake - Karnivool|Songs, Reviews, Credits|AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
2. http://rollingstoneindia.com/how-karnivool-conquered-india/
3. DecoyMusic.com review
4. themetalforge.com review
5. OneMetal.com review Archived 10 October 2007 at Archive.today
6. Blackie, Andrew (11 April 2007). "Karnivool: Themata". PopMatters. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
7. sinister.com.au review Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
8. Sputnikmusic review
9. TuneLab Music review
10. http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Karnivool-Biography/6A66068C06B408384825700D000642E8 (originally sourced from www.karnivool.com on unknown date)
11. Archived 31 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.