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Almost too good to be true
The next time someone asks me what a proper return-to-form looks like, I’ll just hand them this album. Charcoal Grace, Caligula’s Horse sixth full-length, dispels any reservations about the band’s musical direction that I may have had after their previous record, Rise Radiant. That LP felt overly formulaic and hook-obsessed, bordering on repetitive and one-dimensional. It made me fear that, in their pursuit for broader audience appeal, the Aussies might have lost their unique ability to craft expansive music pieces, capable of traversing the full emotional spectrum with a delicate balance between technical prowess, crushing heaviness, and melodic accessibility. With Charcoal Grace, Caligula’s Horse return to their strengths, presenting an album that may reach the dizzying heights of modern prog metal masterpieces, akin to their own 2017’s In Contact.
Paradoxically, this monumental achievement arose from what the band describe as the largest setback of their artistic career, as the global COVID-19 pandemic dashed any hopes of promoting and following up on the commercial success that Rise Radiant was gaining at its release. The new album’s PR blurb includes a quote from the band’s guitarist and songwriter, Sam Vallen, which is very telling: “Charcoal Grace acted as a deliberate desertion of the Rise Radiant period – an acceptance that it, and everything it had promised our career in late 2019/2020, was gone, and that we would need to move on artistically”. And move they did.
At this point in the review, you might be wondering whether Charcoal Grace is merely a colossal exercise in backpedalling. It’s not. The new record retains the hooks, accessibility and broader appeal of Rise Radiant, but integrates them into a more expansive and nuanced songwriting. The songs are given space to breathe and develop in different directions, breaking the monotony and predictability that arguably plagued the previous LP. In doing so, Charcoal Grace hits the sweet spot between the kaleidoscopic proggy magnificence of In Contact and the cinematic immediacy of Rise Radiant, offering the best of both worlds.
In many aspects, Charcoal Grace embodies the essence of modern progressive metal artistry. While the jittery, down-tuned riffs and intricate polyrhythms unmistakably point to djenty prog metal aesthetics, the melancholic guitar leads, layered keyboard arrangements, and beautifully crafted vocal harmonies bring to mind the atmospheric, widescreen textures of Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree (am I the only one getting Hands.Cannot.Erase vibes throughout this record?). Meanwhile, subtle electronic programming and Jim Grey’s occasional exploration of moody alt-rock vocals usher in the modern, arena-pleasing stylings that were also at the core of Rise Radiant. This blend of styles places Charcoal Grace in similar territories explored by other modern prog metal bands like Haken, Leprous, or Pain of Salvation. Except that this album seems to have an edge over all these other releases, seamlessly blending and re-elaborating the different influences to form a new, personal style – something that other bands do not always succeed in achieving.
Everything on the new record approaches perfection. Each song is a small masterwork in tension-and-release songwriting, ebbing and flowing between harsher and mellower segments, naturally weaving together gorgeous melodies with a metallic edge. There’s complexity in the arrangements and song structures, but just enough to keep things interesting without ever overwhelming the listener with excess or technical wankery. This showcases increased maturity and sophistication in the songwriting compared to previous records. The sequencing of songs in the track-list is also pitch-perfect, alternating longer, more complex pieces with shorter, snappier tracks that give the listener room to breathe in between the more demanding movements. I also love how each song explores different moods and atmospheres: from hopeful melancholy (“The World Breathes with Me”), to simmering anger (“Golem”), triumphant exhilaration (“The Stormchaser”), and mellow introspection (“Sails”). Placed in the middle of the track-list, the album’s 24-minute-long, four-part title-track encompasses all the above within a sweeping tale of struggle to overcome strained relationships and abuse.
All these characteristics make the listening experience natural and extremely addictive. The warm and dynamic production adds further value. I really like what Sam Vallen (production, mixing) and Forrester Savell (mastering) have done here, although there are aspects of the sound production that might take some time getting used to. Specifically, I was surprised by how the positioning of the vocals and instruments in the mix keeps changing through throughout each song and the album overall. At times, Jim Grey’s vocals take centre stage, but then they get pushed backward in the mix as the guitars or the keys take the limelight. This makes for a highly dynamic and engaging – if somewhat unusual – listening experience, which fits perfectly with the way the songs are written and arranged. It also surpasses more static and ‘in-your-face’ productions, such as Jens Bogren’s on Rise Radiant (sorry, Jens!).
I have tried to resist the temptation of closing this review with the ‘early contender for album-of-the-year’ cliché. But If this albums does not make it into my top three year-end picks, I will gladly eat my reviewer’s hat. Charcoal Grace captures all there is to modern progressive metal, and may, in fact, be described as the ideal manifesto for the genre – the perfect sublimation of what Caligula’s Horse and a few other select acts have been striving towards in recent years. There is not one single weak moment throughout the album’s 61 minutes. It is almost too good to be true. And you are certainly a fool if you don’t go and check it out. Now.
