For a band that has spent nearly two decades twisting heavy music into shapes nobody else seems willing to attempt, it’s surprising Car Bomb have never played Australia.
That’s all about to change with Car Bomb finally heading down under in July as part of Karnivool’s ‘In Verses’ Australian tour, alongside TesseracT, marking the band’s first ever Australian run.
We caught up with guitarist Greg Kubacki ahead of the trip, and there was genuine excitement behind finally making it happen:
“Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean it’ll be Car Bombs’ first time, so we’re definitely looking to sink our teeth into you guys.”
Kubacki has technically already had a taste of Australia through touring with Ben Frost, but this will be the first time Car Bomb experience it together.
“I was in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne a year and a half ago with Ben Frost, and had a blast. I love the people, I love the places, I love the vibe. I’m really stoked to come back and check out Perth and Adelaide.”
Car Bomb ‘Blindsides’ video
First impressions
His first impressions were familiar in unexpected ways:
“The one thing that kind of reminded me… definitely being like in downtown Sydney… is like, if it runs, be of New York, but just a little bit cleaner.”
That trip also included beaches that felt completely removed from home and an entire day lost inside a Melbourne synth collective.
Kubacki has built a reputation as someone constantly creating, between Car Bomb, work with Ben Frost, stepping in with Gojira and developing his project Sun Guts, there’s plenty happening outside the band.
Sun Guts ‘Jaw Maze’
That workload partly explains why Car Bomb’s catalogue remains selective:
“The stuff we write is pretty complicated, and we’re also experimenting a lot.”
Revisiting older material recently while preparing a vinyl pressing of Meta for Australia reminded him how much exploration has always been built into the process:
“There are songs on there that I forgot we wrote… we were really trying different things.”
Car Bomb ‘The Whisper Dreams’
A new era
If you’re worried that Car Bomb’s next chapter might still be years away, you can relax:
“We are still working on the next car bomb record.”
Kubacki says the goal is to release a new single before the end of the year.
That experimental mindset carried into his recent experience filling in with Gojira, something he describes as surreal but unexpectedly smooth.
“Working in them with them was a pure joy.”
Playing to massive crowds reinforced something he already believed, “We all go by the gut.”
That approach still defines Car Bomb today.
For anyone catching them for the first time in Australia, Kubacki pointed to ‘Lights Out’ (below), ‘Dissect Yourself’ and ‘Scattered Sprites’ as the tracks that best capture what the band does, while adding that their latest EP hints at where things are heading next.
“It’s sort of like the direction we’re going in, which is like a maximalist approach.”
Outside music though, Kubacki might be more relatable than expected, his Instagram has quietly become a home for memes, Transformers references and whatever else makes him laugh.
“I don’t want to spend all day recording myself playing guitar… what’s the quickest thing I can do that’s like that I enjoy… well, memes are fun.”
As for Australia, the timing lines up perfectly, Car Bomb arrive for their first local shows with new music in progress, years of anticipation behind them and absolutely no intention of easing anyone into it.
Karnivool ‘In Verses’ 2026 Australian Tour Dates
Karnivool ‘In Verses’ 2026 Australian Tour Dates featuring Car Bomb
- Saturday, July 18th – Perth, Ice Cream Factory
- Tuesday, July 21st – Adelaide, AEC Theatre
- Thursday, July 23rd – Sydney, Hordern Pavilion
- Friday, July 24th – Melbourne, Margaret Court Arena
- Saturday, July 25th – Brisbane, Riverstage
Find out more and pick up your tickets here.
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