After touring in the US, Karnivool returned to Australia in 2008 and subsequently entered the studio to write their follow-up to "Themata". Goddard stated that the new album "Sound Awake" would be a huge progression from "Themata", while Stockman stated that the writing process of the new record was a collaborative effort by the band, in contrast to their previous work. Karnivool disclosed their new recording strategy for the second album: try to focus less on minute details and record a more natural-sounding album. The album was again produced and mixed by Savell.