Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant Review

As parts of our world begin to return to their prior state, refreshed and reinvigorated, there is still an unease lingering like a grey fog over the distant landscape. Spring has sprung in the northeastern United States, and in a country more divided than ever, young people like me are growing ever more hopeless about the world that is soon to be left in our hands. Post-Millenials are the next to jump into the shrinking job force, and housing markets grow ever more unstable. The COVID-19 pandemic that we are still very much fighting at this time has single-handedly shaped this time, and while the radiant sun is rising slowly on the horizon, I am scared. Normalcy may be returning to some aspects of life, but an unfortunately overlooked struggle of this hard time is not only the plight of the touring musician but also the venues that house them. Locally, as of now, the Great Scott in Allston, Massachusetts has permanently closed. A legendary club that harbored all sorts of artists, this is a major hit to the Boston music scene. 

Yet the most frightening part about this is the relative nothingness in terms of a future for touring musicians, at least in the coming months. Sure, you could be popular enough to get enough Spotify plays to comfortably never leave your house again, but most artists are not in that camp. I am fortunate that I only make music for fun at this time, and do not rely on it as a source of income. For those who do, they NEED your support. I know this is not seemingly related to the topic of today, but this is serious, and far more important than my opinions on this record. But relating back to Caligula's Horse; The band was set to embark on their first US tour, to which your humble writer was over the moon for. I've been a fan since only In Contact, but the group has evolved into one of my favorite bands ever. Don't believe me? I listened to Bloom every day when traveling to my summer job last year, back and forth, which was almost exactly the 44:53 runtime away from my home (making it my second most played album ever, according to Last.fm). Needless to say, I have been extremely excited for Rise Radiant, and was thrilled to see them live (which I am praying will occur next year as rescheduled).

Does this album change how excited I am for their 2021 tour? I can say no and yes. No, because my excitement is no less than it was before, and yes because Rise Radiant is a phenomenal addition to the Caligula's Horse catalog. Their bleakest recording to date, the eight tracks on display showcases that energetic and thumpy prog that I have come to love, but with a lack of the bright quality on many of their songs. Where on "Rust" from Bloom and In Contact's "Fill My Heart" showed the angry side of the band's sound, in stark contrast to their generally cheerful sound, this energy makes up the entirety of this album. There are no "The Hands Are The Hardest"s or "Firelight"s here; it is pure pounding prog. Even the "happier" cuts like "Oceanrise" or "Autumn" have dismal lyrics and somber guitar lines. It scarily matches the rhythm of the times, and while not only continuing my theory of clairvoyance among metal artists (see paragraph 2 of my review of the new Together to the Stars' album), it also makes for some of the band's best material to date. 

"The Tempest" and "Slow Violence" are the first two cuts off of this release, and were released as the first two singles. Any fears this may have caused were automatically quenched upon listening to the songs themselves. The band follows their heart on the first, matching a very "Marigold"-esque riff and an epic and groovy chorus that is enhanced marvelously by one of my most idolized vocalists ever, Jim Grey. I am only going to talk about Grey's instrumental prowess once as the alternative would be me touching upon it on every single track, but they are truly spectacular. His belting voice is one of the strongest in prog today, and his falsetto is as beautiful as the rest of his work. But my crush on Grey is only one aspect of the band's complex and technical sound, as each member of this keyboardless group is a master of their instrument. Sam Vallen and Adrian Goleby's guitar work is djenty and inventive, thumping along to Josh Griffin's exploratory drum parts and Dale Prinsse's rock-solid bass grooves.

Moving on to the second song, "Slow Violence" is extremely rhythmic and is one of the most fun on the whole. Punchy drums and thick bass drive the single, while guitars add flourishes of djenty chugs and noodling alike. The cuts speak for themselves as singles and lead off Rise Radiant with a huge bang. The following track, "Salt," was admittedly a slow burner for me. As I will expunge any doubts I originally had with this release throughout this review, this album has grown better and better with every listen. My thankful editor helped me realize the majesty of its beautiful builds and monolithic choruses, which has resulted in its positions as one of my favorites among the 48-minute release, but also in the Caligula's Horse discography. Grey's falsetto is particularly on prime display here, emphasizing the Haken-like verse structure. The song never gets truly heavy, but it doesn't need to, more than filling its seven-and-a-half-minute runtime. 

My biggest issue with this whole release comes with the next track, "Resonate." It is not a bad interlude, but the electronic, almost trap-like drums really throw me off from the song. But Grey's vocal melody and lyrics pull me back, however, speaking both of the break in the tracklist and also somewhat of our time. That last part might be a stretch, but needless to say, this cut isn't too deep and is needed after the outright bangers of the opening three. "Oceanrise" launches into a Leprous-like Coal or The Congregation riff that drives the track in a similar way to their Nordic labelmates. With guitar chugs placed on many odd beats, spastic drums, and consistently shifting vocal leads, the comparison is notable but does not take away from the song in any way. Even going back to the Haken tribute on "Salt," these previously unseen influences are great touches to the already unique sound championed by this group. Maybe eventually, prog bands will have Vallen riffs littered all over them (they will).

The final single "Valkyrie" was also a grower, but I think this one fits better into the context of the album than as its own entity. It provides a great aggressive divide between the softness of the next track and the "traditional" prog of the previous. It also has a super interesting pre-chorus-into-chorus that still pleasantly catches me off-guard even now. Thumpy as ever, Caligula's Horse sticks to their guns on this track, and it works wonders. 

The next two tracks, "Autumn" and "The Ascent" are long-form prog efforts that both wonderfully blend together to create a 17-minute masterpiece that rivals "Graves" as the best Caligula's Horse closer. The first is a reserved vocally driven banger that is just so fuckin beautiful (the tears welling up sort of beautiful) and garners the same sort of sonic palette of longing emotions found on tracks like "Capulet," "Undergrowth," and "Thief" from their previous efforts. Similarly to most of the cuts by this group, which have fantastic builds that eventually climax into guitar solos or smashing riffs, "Autumn" epically peaks into a massive chorus that fills the mix like an orchestra, with parts fluttering all over the track. I will reiterate: "It's just so fuckin beautiful".

But hold on, because "The Ascent" takes that beauty and stamps on it with the ferocity of the Roman military. Leading off with a gnarly drum solo, the tracks chugging melodies ebb and flow between atmospheric Grey-lead verses that apex in huge refrains. It is so Caligula's Horse that if I didn't like this band I might be sick of the tropiness of it. But you shouldn't be. This song is so unbelievably well-written, with sweet cymbal fills backing the chuggy passages, while melodies scream through the head-banging grooves. While it might be much to say it is a perfect example of a song by this group, I am proclaiming just that. It has everything that you could hope for in an explosive closer by a prog group (ie. Haken's "A Cell Divides," Leprous' "The Sky Is Red," etc.). If any song should stick with you after the record stops, look no further; "The Ascent" is the massive cherry on an already very tasty cake. 

Rise Radiant is all of the previous Caligula's Horse albums put together in a very well-executed package. It is truly something special, and almost inarguably the best prog release of the year yet. The band is unabashedly putting everything they know out there, and they don't care what it sounds like. Fortunately for all of us, it is great. I can see some of the arguments of saying Bloom and In Contact being superior releases, some of which I agree with, but Rise Radiant needs to be slotted into contention between them as a worthy contender.

Final Rating: I am so excited for their tour, holy SHIT

Favorite Tracks: "The Ascent," "Autumn," "Salt" (I mean, mostly all of them)

FFO: Haken, Leprous, Arcane

Track List:

1. "The Tempest"

2. "Slow Violence"

3. "Salt"

4. "Resonance"

5. "Oceanrise"

6. "Valkyrie"

7. "Autumn"

8. "The Ascent"

You can support the band through their website here.