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COLOSSUS

Caligula's Horse

Progressive Metal


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Caligula's Horse Colossus album cover
4.32 | 35 ratings | 4 reviews | 54% 5 stars

Essential: a masterpiece of
progressive rock music

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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 2011

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Colossus (5:40)
2. Vanishing Rites (Tread Softly Little One) (5:12)

Total Time 10:52

Line-up / Musicians

- Jim Grey / lead vocals
- Sam Vallen / guitar, production, vocals, misc.
- Dave Couper / bass, vocals
- Zac Greensill / guitar
- Geoff Irish / drums

Releases information

Self-Released

Thanks to progmetalhead for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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CALIGULA'S HORSE Colossus ratings distribution


4.32
(35 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(54%)
54%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(26%)
26%
Good, but non-essential (17%)
17%
Collectors/fans only (3%)
3%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

CALIGULA'S HORSE Colossus reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Andy Webb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Retired Admin
4 stars Short in stature, colossal in depth

Caligula's Horse is a young Australian Progressive Metal band founded in early 2011. The band was originally intended to be Quandary guitarist Sam Valen's solo project, until he found vocalist Jim Grey whose powerful voice fitted Valen's fresh prog metal music quite wonderfully. The duo's debut album Moments from the Ephemeral City contained about 40 minutes of truly delicious and quite fresh-sounding prog metal takes, so when the duo recruited a full band and recorded two new tracks with the new lineup pointed towards release as an EP and as bonus tracks on the physical release of the band's debut, I was excited. I was not disappointed. The two-track EP Colossus only runs a short 10 or so minutes, but the two tracks host a wealth of creative spirit, exciting styles, and inventive sounds.

The short EP contains the title track and the song "Vanishing Rites (Tread Softly Little One)." The EP is much the same style as the preceding full length, with adventurous, dynamic, and diverse sounds all melding into a continuous stream of powerful and very progressive metal. Grey's strong voice perfectly accentuates Valen and Zac Greensil's well-placed guitar playing, and Dave Couper and Geoff Irish, bassist and drummer respectively, hold down a wonderful rhythm for the entire band to play around. Now a full band, the EP is also less guitar-centric, with the bass and drums both being much more prevalent in the mix, which makes the music sound much more full and embellished. The diversity of the music is also very much present, with the frequent shifting from mellow melodic rock to happy-go-lucky near-shuffle-esque "metal" to djent-inspired prog metal riff sessions - all of which are quite wonderful for the ears.

The Colossus EP, the second release from this young and promising Australian progressive metal band has blown me away in much the same way the band's debut album did - the guys in the band have made it quite obvious that they are chock full of creative talent, compositional know-how, and the ability to produce a kick-ass album. The two tracks are dripping with some of the better modern progressive metal to emerge from the scene in the last few years. I can see this band becoming one of the "big ones" in the near future. Highly recommended. 4 stars.

Review by UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars "Colossus" is an EP release by Australian progressive rock/metal act Caligula's Horse. The EP was independently released in September 2011. Caligula's Horse was formed in early 2011 by guitarist Sam Vallen and lead vocalist Jim Grey and the band released their debut full-length studio album "Moments from Ephemeral City" in April 2011. At that point the band contemplated disbanding, but as fan reactions were so positive they decided to carry on and solidify the lineup who recorded the debut and tour with that lineup. Itīs the same quintet lineup who recorded the two tracks featured on "Colossus".

Both the EP title track and "Vanishing Rites (Tread Softly Little One)" are around 5 minutes long making "Colossus" a 10 minutes long listen. The first thing I notice when listening to the title track is that itīs one of the more heavy and aggressive songs from the early catalogue of Caligula's Horse. At the same time it also features beautiful melodic song lines, a soaring chorus, and quite exquisite vocal harmonies and choirs. "Vanishing Rites (Tread Softly Little One)" is not quite as heavy (although it certainly also features some very heavy parts) and features a more playful mood and interesting dynamic changes. Both tracks are high quality compositions and production wise a step up from the sound on "Moments from Ephemeral City".

The original EP is probably a hard to find release these days, but the two tracks are featured on the InsideOut Music reissue of "Moments from Ephemeral City" as bonus material, and function well there as part of that album. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Latest members reviews

5 stars Caligula's Horse - What can I say? This band is absolutely wonderful. I feel lucky to have shared the stage with this bunch of talented Australian musicians. This 2 track offering is slightly more straightforward to my ears but it really packs a punchy considering the art undertones that permeate ... (read more)

Report this review (#610581) | Posted by Dougie of Anubis | Monday, January 16, 2012 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Seahorse After buying Moments from Ephemeral City, listening to it on repeat in my drives down from Brisbane to Uni, I realised I needed more C-Horse. The Colossus EP is a follow-up to Moments, it's an EP dedicated to the fans, a way of thanking them for the support of this extraordinary project. ... (read more)

Report this review (#552250) | Posted by ginjaninja | Tuesday, October 18, 2011 | Review Permanlink

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