KarnivoolPerth progressive rock/alt-metal titans Karnivool have topped the ARIA Charts with their first album in nearly thirteen years, In Verses. The achievement is made even sweeter by being the first Australian #1 album of 2026.
In addition to topping the overall Albums Chart, Karnivool have reached #1 on the Australian Albums Chart and Vinyl Chart. The release of In Verses and its impressive chart debut follows the Top 50 debut of the band’s last three albums: 2005’s Themata hit #41 on the Albums Chart, 2009’s Sound Awake reached #2, and 2013’s Asymmetry spent a week at #1.
“We can’t believe it. After 13 years of waiting, it’s bloody lovely not to be forgotten, and at such a wild time for music to get a #1 record is pretty amazing,” the band said.
They continued, “Karnivool as a band has never followed a conventional path, god knows we aren’t even on TikTok, and this album is on our own label through our friends at Sony. So, we will raise a glass to our fans, families, [producer] Forrester [Savell] and our friends who worked on the record, and anyone who walks their own path. See you at a show.”
ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd added, “What an incredible release to mark the very first Aussie #1 of 2026. Huge congratulations to Karnivool for a massive achievement after 13 years.”
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In a recent interview with The Music, Karnivool vocalist Ian Kenny and guitarist Drew Goddard explained that the band felt like they’d “had a win” with the long-awaited release of In Verses.
“Everyone feels like we've had a win. I think everyone’s still finding some really beautiful stuff in this record; it’s still feeling very new to us,” Kenny said.
He continued, “There’s still a lot more to explore when we play some of this stuff live; I think everyone’s a bit itchy for that. So, it’s a good place to be for us. The other side of this record is feeling great.”
Elsewhere on the Albums Chart, Japanese-Australian singer Joji hit #3 with his fourth album, Piss In The Wind.
Following his Super Bowl Halftime Show headline performance, Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny has achieved his first-ever Top 10 record in Australia, with his album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS landing at #4. The album previously peaked at #16 last year.
Sydney artist Russell Fitzgibbon, who performs as Skeleten (and formerly a member of electronic music duo Fishing), hit #39 with the album Mentalized, while Melbourne pop band Blusher – playing at Laneway Festival – made their Albums Chart debut at #45 with their Racer EP.
