CALIGULA'S HORSE

Progressive metal has seen something of a resurgence in recent years. Of course, the style never truly halted, but it's only been in the past few years where the fusion of prog and metal has been given a new, modern face to it. Caligula's Horse is a band that aptly defines where I think the sound is at nowadays; a draw of melodies, chunky Meshuggah-like rhythms and general response to modern trends in rock. Suffice to say, this Australian act is able to avoid many of the tired conventions that once had me turn my nose at the 'new' progressive metal coming out. Made even more impressive by the fact that this is more-or- less a one man operation, Caligula's Horse and its debut album will not feel out of place in any progressive metalhead's diet.

Perhaps best known as the guitarist of Quandary, Sam Vallen forged Caligula's Horse as an attempt to get the heavier side of his musical expression out. Although vocals are offered here by the talented Jim Grey, Vallen does everything on 'Moments From Ephemeral City', from the songwriting to recording. Though Caligula's Horse now has a full band to play this music in a live setting, the debut is mostly the product of one man, and had I not known that, I would never have guessed it. Though Caligula's Horse is the debut of what could be called an 'indie' act, it is expertly executed, and the composition is only enhanced by Vallen's modern recording and emotive musicianship. In regards to the style and sound of Caligula's Horse, the fellow prog metal squires in Haken came to mind. There is a healthy acknowledgement of modern prog rock in Caligula's Horse, and the metal element of the band's sound comes out less than I would have expected. Regardless, moments such as the chugging climax to 'The City Has No Empathy' make Vallen's allegiances clear, drawing from the Meshuggah-conceived style now commonly known as 'djent'.

The composition is quite varied, ranging from Dream Theater-like instrumental fury to jazzy breaks and epic prog swells. 'Moments Of Ephemeral City' is graced by the fact that each song manages to stay significant and distinct from one another, although it was somewhat disappointing that there was never the same emotional intensity and flow of songwriting after the excellent opener. Jim Grey's vocal work is a very welcome addition to the sound of this band, giving another dimension to the sound through his smooth, even jazz-like vocal delivery. Through the heavier sections and soft observations, his voice fits the mood perfectly. Caligula's Horse leaves me wanting more of their music, although it would be even better to hear them explore their metal side more, which I felt was a little underdeveloped on the record. Regardless, 'Moments From Ephemeral City' is a great modern prog record, brimming with memorable musical themes and consistent execution. I have high hopes for this band in the future.

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.

Sam Vallen's songwriting, production and performance are incomparable with most musicians in music today. Colossus is a step towards the next C-Horse project in terms of production and performance. Colossus still has that pristine sound like Moments (and that sexily pure guitar tone Mr Vallen) but rather than being Vallen's project, Colossus features the band, signifying a movement from Jim and Sam's project. The intensely layered vocal harmonies and great vocal production on both songs are becoming a trademark for the C-Horse sound, not at all meaning to detract from the phenomenal performance of Jim Grey, whose intelligent phrasing of lyrics, dynamic changes in melody and virtuosic technique make for a pungent ear load of organic vocalisation.

"Colossus" opens with a beautifully harmonic vocal section and a cool electronic, borderline dance track. The song then progresses into a verse that ebbs and flows vocally, with a chorus which opens up in terms of rhythmic complexity to something that shows some very intriguing chordal changes and again the amazing vocal harmonies. Dave Couper's bass playing comes to fruition in Colossus with his smoothly contoured bass lines contribute in a huge way to this eclectic mix of sounds, inclusive of some truly tasteful fills and well meshed tight doubling with guitars. Dave's clear, present tone, full of chunk is complimented by that cool fretless bass, more proof Dave's great proficiency in his instrument. Geoff Irish, whose ginger locks make his performance just that much better, has an artistry in his drumming style which incorporates a great feel, ghosting on the snare during the song and moving through some sweet sweeping tom fills like the one leading into the first verse. This song also features a short solo from Zac Greenshill, tastefully chosen notes which form a melodically compelling solo. Though there is a clear difference between guitar styles when Sam introduces his typically grand solo, the change in guitar feel genuinely makes me want to hear Zac come alive in the next C-horse album.

Vallen's songwriting has once again digressed from anything I've heard before in "Vanishing Rites (Tread Softly Little One)"; disagree with me if you want. Vanishing Rites has such a crazy range of musical styles it can only be described as prog-vante garde. Strangely however, as a person who 6 months ago thought the epitome of technical music came with Karnivool's "Cote" in 15/8, this song is a personal favourite of mine, including almost any other band I listen to. The vaudeville verse with the shuffle drums is an aspect of music I've not yet discovered in popular music, the way that Sam blends the verse transition into the chorus and back again, the change in dynamics from the sporadic build up in 5/8 to the jazz fusion interlude gives me a musical hard on. The peak of this song, and it gets me every time, is the teeth exploding sub drop into the brootul djent section that makes you want to destroy furniture and Smart cars. I reciprocate the same compliments in this song from Colossus to the band members, with special mention to Geoff's performance, who once again makes a cupcake out of polyrhythm. Not unlike Meshuggah, Irish's playing on this track makes the rhythmically complex, accessible to the audience smashing that china in simple 4/4.

This review is pretty much just an outlet for me to express how much I'm in love with Zac, Dave, Geoff, Jim and Sam's work. After seeing them at the Beergarden on the 27th of October, proving that they are not only a brilliant studio band but an encapsulating, tight, engaging, virtuosic [go get a thesaurus] band when playing live.

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.

The guitar playing and tones therein are simply astonishing with enough girth to keep the heaviest Progressive Metal fan entranced as well as the gentlest of Progressive fans. The emotional warmth to Vallen's guitar playing is perplexing at times and I really wonder how such music would be approached in a live setting as the note density is comparable to that of any instrumental guitar hero (Vai, Satriani, Petrucci). Perhaps what I enjoy most about the album is the blend of modern and vintage sounds which sits in complete equilibrium and does not evoke thoughts that this is simply an homage to the band's influences. The music is very rich harmonically whilst not isolating listeners with excessive breaks from diatonic tonality. That being said, Vallen and Grey together work to build great moments of tension and release - a special highlight is the magnificent outside note choices in Vallen's leads.

There are some moments of shear guitar brilliance like all of 'Singularity' and the clean guitar arpeggiations in Ephemera. Tosin Abasi eat your heart out, Caligula's Horse is here.

Vocalist, Jim Grey has always impressed me since hearing 'Chronicles of the Waking Dream' by his band Arcane. This is a singer who is both pleasurable to listen due to his ethereal vocal qualities, as well as being able to unleash some visceral power when called for. Being a singer, it is quite an intimidating and humbling listen to hear how effortless Grey can communicate every emotion imaginable; a wonderful gift to Australian music and Caligula's Horse indeed.

So far, this is the best release to come out in Australia this year and I will be keeping it my top 10 internationally for 2011. For fans of Allan Holdsworth, Animals as Leaders, Arcane, Opeth, Frost*, The Beatles, and anyone with an open mind to progressive music.

Caligula's Horse is an obscure, young, indie Australian eclectic progressive metal band. Started as a solo project for Quandary's guitarist Sam Vallen, when vocalist Jim Grey joined the project, the band grew into a fully functioning project. Their debut album, Moments from Ephemeral City, fuses the melodic progressive rock/metal of the guitarist's main band Quandary with the heavier metal of his aspirations for a truly eclectic brand of progressive metal. Each track fuses a great melodic diction with heavy bursts of fury with strong diversity running through the entire album. An overall powerhouse of modern progressive metal, and a fantastic and professional album as well, showing this band's apparent maturity and (hopefully) lasting mark on the genre.

The City Has No Life opens the album, first light and jovial, with some nice guitar work. It soon transitions into a nice guitar solo, with some nice harmonizations between the guitars. Quickly it transcends into the throes of trepidation, throwing in heavier riffs and rhythms to back the accelerating solos. The song takes no prisoners, however, having no trouble in transitioning into a mellow and melodic section. Even from this, the song flies into the heavier spectrum yet again, only to transition again and again, keeping the listener tuned to the stereo as the band throws countless dynamic changes in this apparently highly diverse music. Even from the first track, one can see the alarming skill the band possesses, with effortless transitions and compositional goodies peppering the track the whole way through. Despite being harsh at times in a lyrical sense, it has use with accents on the harsh swears at the most opportune times, accentuating the music at the essential parts. Overall, the song perfectly displays this band's vision, and outlines the way this band functions very well.

Silence opens with a mellow ambient acoustic part, with another great guitar solo to back it. Throwing in more ambient tricks, the song has a more spacey feel, with a much heavier emphasis on melody than metal in this track. It has a very chill atmosphere, fusing a cool proggy feel with some contrasting melodies. Although not as strong as the first track in a metal sense, it still has a strong creative output and a nice atmosphere.

Singularity has a stronger metallic groove going for it, opening with a great sweeping solo. It is a superb instrumental, showcasing the instrumental prowess of Vallen and co. (I'm not sure if there is a "co."). Although the themes get a bit repetitive, the great soloing and layering going on during the track really give it a nice spice.

Alone in the World, the massive 11 minuter on the album, is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Opening for once with a crushing djenty riff and some nice groove backing it, the track is the most obviously metal on the album. It sweeps in and out of a killer riff session and a great melodic vocal theme. With another killer guitar solo, the song's instrumental section is easily the best on the album. Vallen's unique style, although apparently Petrucci- influenced, has a really great vibe to it and has some great harmonization going on. The mellow breakdown in the middle of the track provides a nice breather to the intensity of the track and makes a nice contrast to the intense metal preceding it. The exiting solo is great, utilizing some really nice sounding sweeps and shreds. Overall, it is a fantastic track, fusing much of the band's overall style into a nice concise track.

Ephemera is a fantastic little melodic track, with some sublime harmony between the vocal parts and some really great acoustic work. The atmospheres and ambient layers also really add to the track very nicely, giving it a fantastic spacey feel. Another great feature is the symphonic pieces, accenting the music nicely. Overall a shorter, but very pretty, track; it gives the album a nice dynamic.

Equally Flawed, next to Alone in the World, is my favorite track on the album. Opening with a fantastic little piano diddy, it soon transitions into a sweeping metal groove session. Combining some really great melodies to front the great metal riffs and some really nice lyrics, the song has not trouble getting into the upper sonic echelons, utilizing some really amazing arrangements between each instrument for different themes from earlier in the track and countless other really fantastic compositional pieces.

Calliope's Son, although it opens with most likely the cheesiest opening I've ever heard is a great track. Although the first notes set you up for one of the cheesiest track ever, they soon modulate into a really fantastic mode. The song flows into a really great adventurous metal track, reaching heights as the smash hit success Haken did last year (2010), with some really fantastic metallic section and some really great contrasts and dynamics between each instrument. Overall it's a really fantastic track which really closes the album well.

ALBUM OVERALL: For a debut, this is spectacular. For an album, it's damn fantastic as well. Blasting out of only a little experience with an indie prog metal band, Sam Vallen and his trusty vocalist Jim Grey have come forth with a highly professional and superbly crafted section of music, with a fresh style and a great vision for the genre. Each track has countless little diverse tidbits that really give the album life, breathe air into a great composition, and set this band off onto the great road to success, and a great cult following of devoted prog listeners. 4 stars.