IN CONTACT

Okay; first listen; Bleh... Second listen; Meh... Third listen... Hmmm... Errrrr, What?!?!?!? Fourth listen; Okay, Now I'm getting it!!! Fifth and beyond: I Love this album!!!

This is NOT going to be the masterwork of Caligula's Horse. They are one or two albums away...

And when THAT happens, heaven help us...

Despite the ever rotating cast of characters, Caligula's Horse (at the core: Sam Gallen, Jim Grey and Dave Couper), still find a way of making relevant, absolutely outstanding progressive metal. And (ever so much) more...

This does to me what Close to the Edge, The Underfall Yard, and so many other albums have done to me: It makes me pick up my guitar and learn every note... If only for the chorus of "Dream the Dead" alone, I'd give this 5 PA stars, but there is SO MUCH More to be found here...

The vocals and writing of both Jim Grey and the guitars of Sam Vallen make this a five star to me... Once I start with this band, I don't stop for days...

Obviously, your mileage may vary... Best $17.00 (U.S.) I've spent this year...

Grace and peace, Cylli

This album definitely qualifies as one of the top three or four heavy prog/prog metal albums of the year. Though there are many segments in which the similarities to Australian band KARNIVOOL come crashing into my face, this is an extremely well produced album of well-conceived and performed songs.

1. "Dream the Dead" (8:09) great opener--ominous metallic sounds from the opening are soon held in check for the arrival of the gorgeous vocal but they're there: lurking beneath, you can feel them waiting to pounce despite the pretty music and singing. Very KARNIVOOL-like--Karnivool at its best. (9.5/10)

2. "Will's Song (Let the Colours Run)" (4:42) opens with a fairly simple melody played over aggressive djenty guitar chords and machine gun bass drumming. Before the first minute ends, the music scales back to make room for the vocal--which is nice--soft and breathy with great, edgie melodies. The chorus bursts forth again sounding very much like KARNIVOOL--a sound that seems to carry forward into the next verse section as the singer sings in full Ian Kenny voice. Impressive guitar solo at the 2:55 mark. Again, the KARNIVOOL sounds and styles are unmistakable--especially in the chorus--but it's a great sound! (9.5/10)

3. "The Hands are the Hardest" (4:46) Before the age of metal and djent, this could have been a great techno-pop song. Great melodies. Strange that the line "love conquers all" appears in the chorus. The guitar-strum murky final minute is actually awesome! (9/10)

4. "Love Conquers All" (2:21) delicate acoustic guitar arpeggi open this one before rhythm track enters beneath. Multiple guitars set up a melody before everything cuts out, resets, and Jim's vocals start. The multi-voice-supported chorus enters with only a minute left! and then we restore the opening vocal theme for the finish. Simple, odd, pretty. (8.5/10)

5. "Songs for No One" (7:43) opens with voice that is quickly joined by the full-force of the band. Nothing held back here! Almost a "metal shoegaze" guitar sound here! The lyric and vocal, however, fails to grab me while the rest of the music in support is fairly simple--until the quiet passage beginning at 1:40. Effective; gives the listener a better appreciation for the construction of the fuller, heavier passages. At 2:30 there is another lull, this time without vocals, before power chords and drums come bursting back in. Nice variety with djent-guitar during the bridge before the second chorus. The choruses, however, just don't do it for me. Nice vocal-lead guitar handoff at the 4:10 mark--followed by a sweet guitar solo. Another lull at the end of the fifth minute, with whispery vocals and floating guitar notes, sustains itself into a beautiful gentle choral section before we fly back into the fast lane. Vocal growls shout out in the background of the next high-octane instrumental section. An interesting song with some clever highlights and mildly disappointing situations. (9/10)

6. "Capulet" (3:23) gorgeous, emotionally delivered upper-octave vocal supported by acoustic guitar-led trio. I like the middle octave backing of the second voice. I also like the change in upper end dynamics of the guitar and organ in the final minute. Cool! (9/10)

7. "Fill My Heart" (6:42) an edgy, aggressive song with a nice melody that is set up by a catchy chord progression. Interesting contrast between the active drums and simple guitar picking. Deep bass notes sneak in during the third minute. Ominous syncopated instrument play at the halfway point. Long high note singing reminds me of Ian Kenny from Karnivool. Blistering guitar solo in the sixth minute sets up the final repetitions of the chorus. Nice heavy prog song. (9/10)

8. "Inertia and the Weapon of the Wall" (2:57) theatric stage soliloquy--no doubt from some play.

9. "The Cannon's Mouth" (5:56) opens with a very chunky, djenty sound--over which lead guitarist wails intently. When the vocals enter, over a very quiet, spacious foundation of sparse music, it feels/sounds like a continuation of the previous song's thespian vocal delivery, except for the fact that the music amps up to full metal guitar chopping with the choruses. Slow, Ian Kenny-like high-voice singing at the end of the third minute. The chorus gets heavier next time around. Nice melodies. (9/10)

10. "Graves" (15:31) this prog epic contains many moments that remind me of the sounds and work of Poland's 1990s prog revivalists, COLLAGE: instrumental and vocal melodies, synth sounds and even drumming style. Still, the highs and lows and overall effect of the song is not anything that feels innovative or even refreshing; there is nothing new here. And the fact that the chorus starts each time with the familiar words and sound of KARNIVOOL's "We are" detracts and distracts. The presence of piano and sax are different (yet add nothing new or exciting). (8/10)

4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music.

With their fourth album, 2017's In Contact, Caligula's Horse managed to write one of the best and most notable progressive metal albums of recent decades. The creative and compositional leap that the band took between their previous release, 2015's Bloom, and In Contact is astounding. While Bloom let foresee that Caligula's Horse is a hugely talented band, that album did not quite succeed in channelling this talent into a fully-accomplished musical statement. Given that Bloom was already their third album, one might have been excused for wondering whether Caligula's Horse would ever manage to break big or whether they would instead remain one of the eternally unfulfilled promises of prog metal. In Contact simply blows all doubt out of the water, showcasing a band at the apex of their creative powers.

The formula the band uses on the album is remarkable in its simplicity: they start with a catchy, melodic alt-rock sound and push it to its utmost limits by using it in the context of structurally, harmonically and rhythmically complex songs. The result is an album that somehow manages to strike the perfect balance between compositional brilliance and emotional accessibility, and that has the capacity to stun the listener on first listen with its melodic immediacy, but also keeps drawing him in for more with its depth and complexity.

There are three key qualities that make of In Contact a prog metal masterpiece. First, the album bursts with absolutely stunning melodies, monstrous earworms that will inexorably get stuck in your head without ever being corny or cheesy. And I am not just talking about the vocal melodies, beautifully delivered by a Jim Grey in a state of grace. The album also contains plenty of tasty melodic instrumental leads that often complement and compete with the vocal lines. These leads are mostly performed by Sam Vallen's guitar, but there is also an awesome sax lead on the last song "Graves" performed by Shining's frontman Jørgen Munkeby.

Second, these melodies are used outside of a conventional verse/chorus structure that subordinates the melodies of the verse to the chorus and uses repetition to anchor the song. In most songs of In Contact there are no verses and no choruses. There is simply a succession of separate melodic figures perfectly flowing into one another without break of continuity. The melodies are so infectious that often it is almost like listening to songs that only contain choruses. In a few songs ("Will's Song", "Song for No One", "Graves"), the quality of the melodies is so high that the effect is simply awe-inspiring.

Third, each song, and the album as a whole, transmit a sense of moving forward, of being on a musical journey that is bigger than the sum of its parts. This is partly achieved by avoiding the circularity and repetition of traditional song structures, but also through the rich and varied sonic palette that Caligula's Horse use across the 10 tracks of In Contact. Spirited djenty guitar riffs and complex polyrhythms are alternated with soft acoustic moments ("Capulet") that sometimes even veer toward delicate synth-pop ("Love Conquers"). Elsewhere, we have emphatic shouted choruses that add a touch of post-hardcore aggression to the music ("Will's Song", "The Cannon's Mouth", "Graves"). The band even manages to throw in a piece of spoken poetry ("Inertia and the Weapon of the Wall") without making it feel out of place, somehow. There is also lots of color on the album: electric and acoustic guitars, Hammonds, sax, and synths are all aptly used to inject variety in the songs.

The best example of what this albums sounds like can be found on its closing track, the 15-minute long prog-epic "Graves". This is the musical peak of the album and is packed to the brim with awesome vocal melodies and great instrumental breaks. The opening section contains some of the most emotional signing of the album (when Grey sings "Faint heart?"). After a jazzy instrumental break, the song transitions to a splendid choral counterpoint with multiple voices at the unison creating a somber, almost sacred atmosphere that eventually finds relief in a beautifully serene vocal melody ("He sees me?"). The song picks up in intensity again soon afterwards and, after a few more twists and turns, it culminates in an epic chorus with shouted vocals over a foreboding King Crimson-esque sax solo. Pure brilliance. There are so many good ideas in this song that other bands would have made a whole album out of them.

In summary, In Contact is, to date, the creative peak of Caligula's Horse. It is an exhilarating album, one of those rare records where everything just falls into place. Stuffed with brilliant melodies, complex compositions and daring experimentation, this is simply any prog-lover's dreamworld. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in prog, but also to anyone who is looking for music that is complex and thought-provoking while at the same time remaining authentic and emotionally accessible.

(Originally written for The Metal Archives)