Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace

Written by on 18-02-2024 at 22:01.

For the prog enthusiasts among us, Caligula’s Horse provides an early moment in the year to pay attention, Charcoal Grace being the sixth, newly released studio album by the Australian band. Caligula’s Horse follows the path of gradual progression, their name and fame seeming to increase every year. This can be primarily attributed to the band itself, as the musical quality consistently remains at a high level. This allows the band to be measured not only in sound but also in stature with the likes of Leprous and Haken. Caligula’s Horse, however, follows his own course, the logical development found on Rise Radiant continuing throughout this new Charcoal Grace. We still find a combination of tight guitar work, virtuoso plucking and emotional depth. More than ever these elements are accompanied by bombastic grandeur, bringing to mind bands like Vola, Persefone, and Wilderun.

Charcoal Grace is divided into three parts musically as well as thematically, forming a coherent whole. The A-side consists of The World Breathes With Me and Golem. The former lasts exactly ten minutes (which is quite a feat in itself) and manages to captivate throughout. The versatile dynamics of the song are driven by robust passages and tasteful guitar playing. In the quieter moments, guitarist Sam Vallen’s skills is as both a writer and musician are showcased. Dynamics is the leading word on the entire album, with Golem again showing a beautiful synergy between robust progressive guitar work and moments to be completely immersed in the music.

The B-side consists of the four-part title track which, clocking in at twenty-four minutes, forms the heart of the album. The songs can be listened to as individual parts, but together they clearly form a strong whole. Naturally, the full musical spectrum of Caligula’s Horse is displayed, from orchestral grandeur to acoustic fragility. The strength lies in the natural development of the songs (or rather, the song) without becoming a mishmash of riffs, melodies and tempo changes despite the fact that there is a lot going on. The only downside is that part two A World Without and three Vigil form a ten-minute period of repose on the album, slightly upsetting the dynamics. Part four, Give Me Hell is so threatening and destructive that we immediately forget about this. In fact, we may have needed that relative calmness to fully experience the heaviness that follows. Magnificent!

After that intensity we find, in the final three tracks, the C-side of the album. In the dynamic wave motion of the album, we naturally find a subdued composition in Sails, followed by The Stormchaser. This track contains more bombastic grandeur, but it lacks a really dazzling climax to make it convincing. Especially taking into account its position on the album, there was a need for this. Fortunately, the ultimate climax is found in Mute. In every aspect, a worthy conclusion to the C-side and the album as a whole. In exactly twelve minutes this time, Caligula’s Horse showcases their greatness once again through threatening atmospheres, grandiose momentum and a discovery of deep emotion.

The enthusiast has, of course, long been acquainted with Caligula’s Horse, but it’s high time the band truly reaches a larger audience. That would be nothing short of well-deserved. On Charcoal Grace, it is once again evident that these guys from ‘down under’ firmly belong in the upper reaches of progressive rock and metal. Prog fans can already note their first entry on the year-end list of 2024!

Score:

88/100

Label:

InsideOut Records, 2024

Tracklisting:

  1. The World Breathes With Me
  2. Golem
  3. Charcoal Grace I: Prey
  4. Charcoal Grace II: A World Without
  5. Charcoal Grace III: Vigil
  6. Charcoal Grace IV: Give Me Hell
  7. Sails
  8. The Stormchaser
  9. Mute

Line-up:

  • Jim Grey – Vocals
  • Sam Vallen – Guitar
  • Dale Prinsse – Bass Guitar
  • Josh Griffin – Guitar

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