Charcoal Grace is the latest offering from Australian progressive metal icons, Caligula’s Horse. Released in January 2024, the 9-track concept album is a testament to C-Horse’s mastery of the genre. At times unapologetically impenetrable, soaring guitar leads, introspective lyrics and impeccable production values combine to create a poignant and layered record. However, with no song standing out as greater than the sum of their parts, it will be interesting to see how Caligula’s Horse incorporate tracks from Charcoal Grace into future live sets.
Charcoal Grace’s opening track and second single, ‘The World Breathes with Me’ opens with a jangly, delay-drenched guitar that starts the song off on a decidedly whimsical note. At the around the 1:40 mark, all sense of whimsy is done away with by a barrage of distorted, palm-muted guitar riffs. Soon thereafter, Guitarist Sam Vallen’s piercing lead lines assert themselves. Cutting across the chugging riffing, Vallen’s solos weave a sonic narrative replete with all the emotion that words struggle to convey. Vocalist Jim Grey then enter the mix, alternating between a subdued tenor and a breathy falsetto. ‘The World Breathes with Me’ is a commendable blend of well-crafted lyrics and prodigious musicianship.
Underpinned by a driving, nu-metal inspired guitar riff, the album’s second track, ‘Golem’ is also the heaviest. During the verses, Grey delivers his lyrics in a percussive, rapid-fire manner reminiscent of Disturbed’s David Draiman. While the initial verses are likely to lull listeners into a pleasing groove, as the song progresses it loses momentum. The first of Charcoal Grace’s three singles, ‘Golem’ is one of the album’s more musically divergent songs. Unfortunately, given this album was clearly intended to be listened to end-to-end, ‘Golem’ ultimately ends up a jarring listening experience. Compared to some of the later tracks – which strike a better balance between retaining a distinct identity as a song while matchings the album’s overall atmosphere – ‘Golem’ feels like too much of an outlier.
After a brief and ominous opening sequence featuring guitar and synthesizer, Vallen once again emerges as the album’s standout star in ‘Charcoal Grace I: Prey’. His expressive playing is the perfect balance between technical mastery and raw emotion. Grey’s singing is initially breathy and subdued, gradually building up into an anguished cry at the songs climax. While the ending vocal sequence is compelling, earlier vocal melodies do not support the emotional weight of the lyrics as well as might be expected.
The second song in the four-track suite that comprise the album’s core, ‘Charcoal Grace II: A World Without’ follows on seamlessly from its predecessor. An arpeggiated acoustic guitar riff opens the song, soon accompanied by an electric that picks out a languid melody. Once Grey starts singing, the mix becomes deceptively complicated and is a testament to C-Horses mastery as producers as well as songwriters.
A haunting ballad, Charcoal Grace III: Vigil, features Grey delivering a melody vaguely reminiscent of Opeth’s softer offerings over sparse instrumentation. The acoustic guitar passage underpinning the song is medieval sounding and perfectly punctuated at moments by lush splashes of synthesiser. The song ends with a disquieting build-up of ambient noise; a portent of things to come.
Another faultless transition ushers in ‘Charcoal Grace IV: Give me Hell’. The ambient noise that was building up at the tail end of the previous track bursts into an industrial cacophony. ‘Give me Hell’ is an abrasive song punctuated by more melodic segments throughout.
Vallen’s opening guitar sequence is crystalline in ‘Sail’ where the delicateness of his playing is perfectly matched by the sense of fragility Grey expresses vocally. The almost rushed delivery of the lyrics communicates a profound sense of desperation that is only made more intense by a droning vocal harmony. In one of the album’s most poignant moments, the song builds into a rich wall-of-sound, with Grey’s vocals seeming to suggest there may be hope for catharsis. However, in the closing moments, the song returns to lonely and dispirited solo guitar passages, snuffing out any hope for redemption.
Featuring a catchy vocal melody paired with a clever rhyming scheme and a hypnotic guitar riff, it is easy to understand why ‘The Stormchaser’ was chosen as the album’s third single. Perhaps the albums most accessible track, ‘The Stormchaser’ see’s Jim Grey singing with utmost conviction alternating once more between his breathy falsetto and a grittier tenor.
Grey opens the album’s final song ‘Mute’ with a vaguely Nordic-sounding acapella sequence. The band manage dynamic shifts perfectly, alternating between swells of distorted guitars and quiet passages where Grey’s introspective vocals are allowed to shine. The production is lush but does not in anyway undermine the sense of despair the song is trying to communicate. The guitar solo around the 9-minute mark is the definition of quiet desperation where Vallen once again builds an auricular epic, alternating between moments of tragic hopefulness and complete ruination.
Charcoal Grace is an album that needs to be approached in its entirety. While a handful of tracks stand well on their own – Sails, Charcoal Grace III: Vigil, and The Stormchaser are especially noteworthy in this regard – each song ultimately serves to further a larger narrative. Some listeners may find the result of such sonic and thematic consistency to be an inaccessibly one-note record. However, those with the time and patience to immerse themselves, will be taken on an immaculately produced Delphic journey through the chasms of grief, guilt, and shame.
8.5/10
