Born in Brisbane in 2011, Caligula’s Horse are now one of the most consolidated groups in the progressive metal field.
With six albums, the Australians have earned a prominent place within a crowded scene followed by a demanding audience, thanks to their ability to combine power and elegance in an impeccable way and, despite some training problems and setbacks caused in recent years by the pandemic, they have never stopped growing and aiming for new goals, using difficulties as fuel.
Their new album, “Charcoal Grace”, represents a further step forward in a path that knows no slowdowns, and differs from past production for a heavier and more pessimistic atmosphere, the result of the misadventures that the four musicians have gone through.
We talked about it with singer Jim Grey, happy reading!
HELLO JIM, WELCOME TO THE METALITALIA.COM PAGES. FOUR YEARS PASSED BETWEEN THE RELEASE OF “RISE RADIANT” AND “CHARCOAL GRACE”. WHAT HAPPENED DURING THIS LONG PERIOD OF TIME?
– It has been a really hard journey for us, I know we are not the only ones, but the pandemic hit us at a time when everything seemed to be working perfectly. We were in the process of making “Rise Radiant” and playing all over the world, making an impact that we had never had before.
Then, suddenly, everything was taken from us and we were left adrift without knowing if we would be able to return. Personally, I lost my voice and had to undergo treatment, many vocal therapies just to get back on my feet and have the possibility to go back to work as before. But as soon as we started writing, when we managed to overcome the pain and disappointment of this situation by composing the pieces for “Charcoal Grace”, we found ourselves again.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH ADRIAN GOLEBY, YOUR GUITARIST? WHY DID HE LEAVE THE BAND? AFTER HIS DEPARTURE YOU BECAME A QUARTET. HOW DID YOU WORK ON THE NEW ALBUM WITH ONLY ONE GUITAR? WHAT WILL YOU DO IN THE FUTURE? DO YOU INTEND TO ADD A NEW GUITARIST TO COMPLETE THE LINE-UP?
– Adrian, like many other people, suffered the blow of the pandemic and decided to change his life following a new path. We couldn’t be happier for him and are glad he’s found something new for himself that doesn’t include playing music or touring.
As for the single guitar, we’ve never been a jam band that writes while playing live in a studio; our music, on the contrary, was always born with us already having the pieces in mind. All this means that the songs can be what we want them to be in terms of arrangement even so. We are totally happy as a quartet and it is with this formation that we will continue in the future!
HOW DOES “RISE RADIANT” DIFFER FROM “CHARCOAL GRACE”? THIS LATEST SEEMS TO BE A DARKER AND ANGRIER ALBUM THAN THE PREVIOUS ALBUM. WHEN DID YOU WRITE THE PIECES? WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION? IN THE PAST THE TOPICS COVERED WERE LINKED TO A CERTAIN POSITIVITY, NOW IT SEEMS THAT MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED…
– “Charcoal Grace” is the reflection of everything we have gone through, what we have observed, the experiences we have lived and what we have learned in the years of the pandemic. We see it as a kind of catharsis, a letting go of what we have lost through telling stories that need to be told.
We started writing “Charcoal Grace” in the second half of 2022. Personally, I was nervous about whether I was still capable of it, but the moment we started throwing ideas around between us, everything felt as natural and exciting as ever. The album’s message is decidedly darker, as the idea of writing a positive album when we had so much darkness to clear away would have felt false.
IN THE PAST, YOUR COVERS HAD THE COMMON FACT OF BEING BRIGHT IF NOT FULL OF COLOURS. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, YOU HAVE CHOSEN A DARK SUBJECT, AS IF IT WAS A REFLECTION OF THE MOOD THAT INSPIRED YOU. IS THIS A CORRECT INTERPRETATION? WHO IS THE ARTIST WHO MADE IT?
– The cover of “Charcoal Grace” was created by Chris Panatier, who is an extraordinary talent and an incredibly versatile artist. Whenever we work with an artist, we find someone whose work we love and whose artistry we trust, and we give them the themes, lyrics and concept behind an album (and sometimes demos, where possible) and they interpret the material which we provide with your own style.
We were blown away by Chris’ work as soon as we saw the first draft – it’s an iconic looking image that really captures the loss of humanity depicted in the album. Incidentally, it’s actually a painting on canvas! We wanted to make sure it was a living, tangible, human object of art.
WHAT MEANING DO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO THE TITLE?
– It occurred to me to use the title “Charcoal Grace” considering the dark allure of silence: during the pandemic we had been left in a sort of forced silence in various ways. Even as things began to improve, it had become something of an addiction, an attractive concept to lock away in the dark. “Charcoal Grace” captures that beauty, that darkness of silence.
THE ALBUM IS STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND US. WHAT IS THE ASPECT OF THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE WORLD THAT YOU FIND MOST SCARY?
– A lot is happening. I feel like our role is to provide emotional catharsis and some relief, to take these stories and this music and help people process what they’ve been through, rather than dwell on what’s causing harm in the moment.
THE HEART OF THE RECORD IS THE TITLE-TRACK, A LONG SUITE DIVIDED INTO FOUR PARTS. HOW IS A PIECE LIKE THIS CREATED? HOW DID YOU WROTE IT AND WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
– The suite “Charcoal Grace” is the only part of the album that is clearly a traditional ‘concept song’: it has plot and characters, a narrative arc that gradually intensifies. We were excited to work on a song as long as an entire side of the record, something to really challenge ourselves with.
When all the musical motifs started to develop, we realized that it would be more suitable to divide the piece into four parts, each with its own musical and lyrical identity, and this idea started to take shape.
It’s a tale of generational abuse and trauma: we’ve all seen people lose trust in their loved ones due to radicalization during the pandemic, which continues to happen now. This is one such story.
“THE WORLD BREATHES WITH ME” WAS CHOSEN AS THE INITIAL PIECE. WHAT IS IT TALKING ABOUT?
– “The World Breathes With Me” is essentially a bird’s eye view of our experience over the past few years. The journey from absolutely losing faith in humanity to rediscovering that we are all connected. We are part of an ecosystem of the world and we are united with each other through the breath, and this should be enough to make us reconnect.
WHAT WERE THE FIRST REACTIONS TO THE ALBUM? IN GENERAL HOW MUCH ATTENTION DO YOU PAY TO REVIEWS?
– I’ll be honest, I keep my eyes open during the first few weeks after an album release to see what the reactions are.
I try to avoid reading formal reviews unless they’re sent to me by friends and family (which usually means they’re good!), but I keep an eye on what people are saying about their experience with the album and how hit them. This is the most important thing for me to see: the emotional and personal impact of our music. “Charcoal Grace” resonated with people far beyond what I could have expected – it was beautiful.
YOU ARE ON TOUR RIGHT NOW AND SOON YOU WILL ALSO PASS THROUGH ITALY. WHAT WILL THE CONCERT SCHEDULE BE?
– Our North American headlining tour was really crazy – the response we saw was completely unexpected. We knew we had some rabid fans over there but we had no idea of the scale. It was wonderful.
Every time we travel to a new region we try to make sure there is a balance between the songs from the new album and the old material, even just for those die-hard fans who have been with us for years! But the focus was on “Charcoal Grace”: the highlight of each night was closing the set with “Mute.” It’s a really special song for me.
ARE THERE BANDS THAT HAVE A SIMILAR SOUND TO YOURS? WHAT KIND OF LISTENERS ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR MUSIC? WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE CURRENT PROGRESSIVE SCENE?
– It’s never something I really think about, I don’t find it useful to compare us to other bands. We tend to just put our heads down and do our own thing, trying to make our music as honest a reflection of ourselves as possible. I’m sure people have their own ideas about the bands we are closest to musically!
As for the scene, I’m very excited to see so many young bands with such well-developed and unique artistic talent. We will have a lot of fun.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
– Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Becca Stevens, an American singer-songwriter. I love her vocal arrangements and the tone of her lyrics speaks to me on a really personal level. Her album “Regina” is something special!
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT YOUR NEXT STEP COULD BE?
– We have a lot of tours planned this year! We’ll be touring Australia in April, Europe in May, and there’s more we haven’t announced yet. Somehow, on top of all of this, we’re very eager to start writing again – we’re all super inspired and excited for what lies ahead!
