The long-awaited sixth album from Australian progressive metal stalwarts Caligula’s Horse is finally here. Titled Charcoal Grace, it follows on from 2020’s Rise Radient, and it showcases a band unwilling to rest on their not inconsiderable laurels. Built around the 24-minute, four-part sequence for which the album is named, Charcoal Grace is an engaging reflection of life during and post the pandemic which consumed all our lives, with Caligula’s Horse reaching new musical heights on an album that consistently surprises and delights.
Opening with a ten-minute epic such as The World Breathes With Me is a bold move, but Caligula’s Horse are more than equal to the task, stretching their musical muscles to deal in moments of airy, Anathema-esque beauty, passages of dizzying, Dream Theater-esque prog, and Vola-infused melodicism. The end result somehow bridges the worlds of the complex and the intimate in a frequently jaw dropping display that kicks the album firmly into gear. An unexpected blast of feedback pierces the atmosphere to herald the arrival of Golem, a remarkable track built around an elastic riff and powered by Josh Griffin’s no-nonsense drums. Hard-hitting and with a sharp metallic edge, it sets the senses racing, and paves the way for the Charcoal Grace suite.
The heart of the album is given over to a four-part suite, named for the album and taking up nearly half the total runtime. First track, I Prey, takes in epic prog workouts, complete with Petrucci-esque guitar, darkly stabbing synth lines, and varied vocals, this latter delivered with customary aplomb by Jim Grey, who at times recalls the late (and still much missed), Jeff Buckley. A seven-minute piece that ebbs and flows from the highest metallic peaks to the deepest ambient troughs, it’s a truly expansive workout. It segues into the haunting II A World Without, which deploys acoustic guitars and Dale Prinsse’s sanguine basslines to evocative effect. As the track progresses, so the synths return, introducing a darker element and, before we know it, we’re into III Vigil, a beautiful moment of calm that could best be described as Tool unplugged. Once again, Jim showcases the versatility of his vocals, while the band paint remarkable backdrops behind him. The final part of this epic flight of imaginative fancy is IV Give Me Hell, a fittingly grandiose coda, that brings the guitars back with a vengeance. Honestly, this sequence alone is worth the price of admission, the band effortlessly demonstrating their increasing maturity and capability as songwriters of distinction.
The final third of the album returns to stand-alone tracks, the first of which, Sails, being a relatively svelte (sub-five-minute), and rather beautiful palette cleanser. A necessary moment of calm after the sumptuous musical feat the suite represented, Sails is wonderfully evocative and it neatly paves the way for the rather more explosive workout, The Stormchaser. Packed with hulking great riffs and layered with sublime vocal harmonies, this dynamic piece does much to highlight the Caligula’s Horse’s myriad strengths in just five little minutes. Final track Mute is also the album’s longest single entry, clocking in at a monstrous twelve-minutes. It opens with Jim stood alone on the mountain side, only the lightest of synth touches underpinning a bravura vocal performance. What follows is nothing short of a masterclass in progressive dynamics, with the band coming in like an avalanche, only to recede once more in the face of Jim’s multifaceted delivery. With elements of Gabriel-era Genesis washed through its DNA (not least when a flute is deployed), Mute is the ending this glorious album so richly deserves and it leaves the listener somewhat floored at the display they’ve just witnessed.
Charcoal Grace is that rarest of beasts – a genuinely progressive album, that draws from across the prog firmament, while managing to sound unique. At times, you’ll think you’re listening to a long-lost artefact from the late seventies (not least during the quieter passages of Mute), at other times, you’ll feel the twisted menace of Tool, or the instrumental might of Dream Theater. However, for all the musical dexterity on display, the strength of Caligula’s Horse lies in the band’s ability to retain a very human element to the experience, allowing muscular musicality only to dominate where it drives the songs forward. It makes for an endlessly listenable album, and the band are to be congratulated on a remarkable achievement, even by their own lofty standards. 9.5/10
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