Given that Caligula’s Horse themselves reckon that “Charcoal Grace is borne of the static hopelessness that the pandemic forced upon the band and, indeed, much of the world, these past few years. It is an album reckoning with the experiences and outcomes of this time geared, ultimately, towards catharsis – moving towards a more hopeful future.” It’s fair to say that this is a weighty thing before we start.
And that start is “The World Breathes With Me”. Full of epic soundscapes. Heavy. Angular, yet interwoven with unsettling rhythms. “Give me peace” sings Jim Grey and it sounds like peaceful is the last thing he actually feels.
That it opens with a ten-minute epic, with a stunning solo, is somehow perfect for the return of the Australians.
This record is lengthy and involved. Not the type of record you can dip in and out of. Made for listening to as a whole piece, “Golum” is exactly what modern prog is all about.
For all the cold, clinical work, there’s a warmth about the solos from Sam Vallen.
Caligula’s Horse simply think bigger than the competition. The multi-faceted suite “Charcoal Grace” accomplishes more in its first part than some bands do on an album, and the musicianship is absolutely stunning throughout.
The title track is a 24-minute long thing. Incredible in its scope. Part three “Vigil” almost acts as a palette cleanser, because when “Give Me Hell” hits there isn’t a stadium big enough, frankly. Delivered almost as stream of consciousness, it’s almost as if everything that’s happened since 2020 pours out of everyone here.
After all that, “Sails” is relatively calm. Seemingly ushering itself in on a sunset. It is a beautiful song. And when it lets itself go towards the end, it becomes one of the real highlights of the album.
Honestly, you run out of adjectives to describe this. “The Stormchaser” is yet another that works on enormous levels, with so many peaks and troughs, so much going on, yet it sounds so cohesive.
Rhythm section Josh Griffin and Dale Prinsse haven’t had a mention yet, but my goodness they anchor this down.
It’s typical of this that it ends in an unexpected way, there’s an almost folk tone to “Mute” – but that’s before its closing crescendo. There’s 12 minutes of it. It’s action packed.
“Prog” is one of those catch-all terms that mean nothing. Whether “Charcoal Grace” is a Prog album, we’ll let others debate.
For me, Caligula’s Horse are just what they’ve always been. A forward-thinking, exceptionally ambitious metal band.
One that doesn’t sound like anyone else and yet again this collection proves that.
“Charcoal Grace” might be a career high point.
Rating 9/10
REVIEW: CALIGULA’S HORSE – CHARCOAL GRACE (2024)
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