How nice to start the year with an excellent album from a genre that for me personally has offered little in the last few years. There are very few bands in the progressive scene that now say something to my ears and one of them is the Australian Caligula’s Horse. So as soon as I tracked down their new work I was hooked.
Four years have passed since their previous work, 2020’s “Rise Radiant”, with the main reason for this delay being the pandemic. But, this also gave the band time to regroup. The first point of note is the band’s decision to go with only one guitarist, founding member Sam Vallen, from the start, and that makes all the difference to their sound.
But what does that mean? Anyone familiar with their past knows the barrage of riffs that their compositions have included, to the extent of flirting heavily with djent. So that’s not the case here. Melody is omnipresent and for the first time I dare say that Vallen’s work really breathes. A tremendous example are the longer compositions that open and close the album, “The World Breathes With Me” and “Mute” respectively where amazing melodies carry the listener away.
Rarely does a work that goes over an hour hold my attention. But “Charcoal Grace” managed to do just that. The cleverly placed suite halfway through this album with four compositions keeps a perfect balance. Perhaps the only track that is closer to their past is “Golem” but I personally found it the least interesting of the album. The amazing compositions blend harmoniously with the voice of Jim Grey who once again does a great job.
Maybe it’s too early but for me “Charcoal Grace” is already a candidate for one of the best albums of the year in progressive and in general.
