Caligula’s Horse – Gig Review & Gallery 25th April @ Max Watts Melb, VIC
Caligula’s Horse
Max Watts, Melbourne/Naarm VIC
April 25th, 2024
Support: Keyan
Melbourne tends to turn up even for midweek gigs, so it was no surprise Caligula’s Horse pulled a big crowd on a Thursday night. It was their first home show since releasing Charcoal Grace earlier this year. Finish band Wheel were billed as main support until the day of the gig when they went missing from the advertised set times. They still had merch on sale though and a few fans sporting their logo.
Keyan moved into the direct opening slot and dropped straight into his djent polyrhythms. He’s capable of some fabulously atmospheric guitar playing, while the bass and drums keep up. And far out the breakdown, a thunderclap of Asgardian proportions. If you’re sceptical of instrumental bands, Keyan has the skills to change your mind. He uses his guitar to communicate melody with some brilliant fret work before snapping necks on the breakdown. Brutal and beautifully heavy and certainly got a great reception from the crowd.
Coming off their US tour, Caligula’s Horse are in live shape when they take the stage and kick off with ‘The World Breathes Me’. They start as a three piece for the instrumental intro, before vocalist Jim Grey joins them. Guitarist Sam Vallen really teases out his lead notes, the almost silence giving one punter the chance to call out “Welcome home lads”. Vallen soloed above the crowd, using the platform over the fold back to appear transcended.
Grey thanked one punter, who had shouted out that the band “fuckin nailed it” when they released Charcoal Grace. The band hit back with the heavier ‘Golem’, which got a pit happening and the crowd bouncing. It’s the very song that proves the Brisbane band are underrated in their home land, even with their international success. Quite simply it is a banger.
Having introduced fans to new stuff, they took fans back in time to 2015, playing songs from each album in chronological order. That meant they played ‘Marigold’, which really got the crowd singing along. Each song comes with a pause for witty banter and crowd participation, before Grey introduces ’Dream the Dead’ from In Contact. They are incredibly tight as a collective with Grey sounding positively angelic. The quiet parts are delicate in just the right way. As a treat we got ‘The Hands are the Hardest’, which hadn’t been played in seven years. Despite Grey noting it was a “special” song to play, it got a respectful but muted reaction.
More popular was the heavier stuff from Rise Radiant. ‘The Tempest’ rocked hard with the bass rhythm. Major shout out to the lighting dude too who brought it hard on this song. ‘Slow Violence’ and ‘Oceanrise’ were pretty damn ace too, with an epic singalong. Grey noted prog crowds are hard work on crowd participation because the “nerds nail it the first time”.
Which brings us back to the current era, with ‘The Stormchaser’ and its 80s sci-fi soundtrack vibe feeling like an evolutionary step. It’s a captivating performance, especially vocally. They closed the set with a divine rendition of ‘Mute’, Charcoal Grace’s epic final track. It highlights the complexity of their material and their ability to deliver it live. It’s gentle on the verses, vocal and guitar notes dangle above the bass and drums. The lighting is remarkably minimalist, stripping the whole thing back until Josh Griffin kicks his double bass drums and the strobe lights match the intensity. It’s long, but multifaceted and never dull.
As soon as the band leave the stage, fans start chanting for ‘Graves’ and it’s to a rapturous applause and stamping feet that Caligula’s Horse return. More witty banter ensued and, rather than play ‘Graves’, they played ‘Daughter of the Mountain’ for the first time in years. People jumped, heads banged, fingers pointed to the roof. Some might have been disappointed but it’s a fair substitute and certainly gives us all a reason to check out their next run.
Prog can be tricky in a live setting but with a frontman like Jim Grey, Caligula’s Horse go hard, lacking pretentiousness and making technically driven songs a lot of fun.
Review by KJ Draven (Twitter X and Instagram).
Setlist
The World Breathes With Me
Golem
Bloom
Marigold
Dream the Dead
The Hands Are the Hardest
Slow Violence
Oceanrise
The Stormchaser
Mute
Encore
Daughter of the Mountain
Photo Gallery by Adam Portelli. Insta: @adam.ellia
Please credit Wall of Sound and Adam Portelli if you repost.
Keyan
Caligula’s Horse
Caligulas Horse – Charcoal Grace Australian Tour
with Keyan