CALIGULA’S HORSE

Post-pandemic soul-searching replaces djent-adjacent exuberance as Aussie prog metallers deliver grown-up sixth album.

David West, Dave Everley

When Caligula’s Horse released Rise Radiant in early 2020, the band seemed to be in an ebullient mood with an album about triumph in the face of adversity. Looking back now, it seems almost eerily prescient. Like everyone else, they saw their plans to promote the album crash into the unyielding brick wall of the pandemic. Four years later, Charcoal Grace feels like a sombre, reflective counterpoint to Rise Radiant, that sense of exuberance exchanged for a melancholy born from the isolation and self-examination of recent times. The album is informally divided into three acts. The opening tracks showcase the group’s contemporary prog metal stylings. There’s the drop-tuned riffing of The World Breathes With Me and Golem. The former exudes anger and sorrow as vocalist Jim Grey pleads, ‘God forgive…

You're reading a preview of

Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 146

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.