Review CALIGULA`S HORSE ‘Charcoal Grace’

Australia-based prog quartet Caligula’s Horse announced a while ago their newest effort called ‘Charcoal Grace’. It is the sixth full-length longplayer by the Australians and follows the 2020 release ‘Rise Radiant’.

The album contains nine songs that alternate between heavy progressive sounds and calmer moments, like in the gloomy ‘Charcoal Grace I: Prey’. The song blends both aspects of Caligual’s Horse’s sound and is a sonorous prog anthem in which well-done melodies are the connecting element. It is also the first of four songs that create the centerpiece of the album. ‘Charcoal Grace’ is a 24 minutes epos that comes in the mentioned four chapter with the dramatic ‘Charcoal Grace II: A World Without’ being next. I had to think of bands like Lerpous when I listened to the tune which also has to do with the higher pitch vocals of frontman Jim Grey.

Compared to the other tracks on the album, the ‘Charcoal Grace’ suite doesn’t build on personal experiences. It is a fictitious story about a child and its estranged parents. In that way the story fits into the context of the album and finds with the calmer ‘Charcoal Grace III: Virgil’ and the final chapter ‘Charcoal Grace IV: Give Me Hell’ its cinematic continuation.

‘Charcoal Grace’ isn’t a concept album in the traditional way but entails songs that thematically fit together. The first song that was revealed is the throbbing ‘Golem’ which addresses the weight of expectation and the struggles that come with it. The tune is a heavy and riff-driven one that belongs to the most powerful ones on the album.

The pandemic and its effects play a central role or better said, the effects of this extreme situation on people and the band. Fury, melancholy and also the hope for a brighter future are the central vibes of album and songs, reflected for example by the 10-minute opener ‘The World Breathes With Me’. The song shows all aspects of Caligula’s Horse’s music as it has the loud and pulsating moments as well as it comes with calmer and almost fragile episodes. The alternation of the two creates the framework for the opener which is a thundering starting point.

Not to forget is the closer. ‘Mute’ clocks in at 12 minutes and is another masterpiece on the album. Atmosphere and equipped with strong arcs of sounds, the epos is a great way to end an album that is soulful, touching, and heavy. It is dark and at the same time transports a feeling of hope. Within these poles, music has been created that astonishes and is best enjoyed with headphones on.