Across Bloom in 2016 and In Contact in 2017 Caligula’s horse proved themselves deserving of the progressive metal stage – harnessing a sense of sonic exploration that brought together the cosmic beauty of lauded acts in the genre, with the viscerality and darkness of latecomers. One criticism that could be made of those albums though is that they did lean powerfully upon their influences – that’s nothing damming, most acts in the scene do, especially when trying to create an audience for themselves in a genre imbued with rich technical skill and multifarious composition. Yet, on Rise Radiant there’s an earnestness and sincerity. The intricate soundscapes on display take you on a wild journey through the depths of these musicians' wild imaginations. The artwork, a surreal take on the traditional colour palates the act has experimented with – seriously, I love the visuals they employ – pictures the tone as one of adventure, of exploration through different worlds, perplexing to the human eye. The band themselves describe the piece as ‘an anthem for the regeneration of self-belief, an exploration of the themes of legacy, and a rallying cry for survival’. Considering the musical directions twist and turn like a bird in fleeing from a predator, I couldn’t have thought of a finer description.
The Tempest begins on gigantic, soaring guitar phrases, lending a sense of flight to the album's distinct musical composers. The amazing element about the piece is that even in the moments that focus on tension and mood, the instrumentation is diverse. From the colossal riff that defines the backbone of the verses, to the gentle yet entrancing stylings which constantly float in the background, everything on display proves beautiful, if strangely dark. For all the alterations our opener makes, you could be forgiven for worrying if one of them will not unfurl gracefully – they all do. Everything feels considered, and intertwined with each element working in harmony. Frontman Grey and Guitarists Vallen and Goleby demonstrate their skills exquisitely throughout – the former having improved as a vocalist, his voice reaching into echelons not previously tapped into – the fascinating order of the notes, only matched by the latter two who command their instrument with a sense of groove and precision. Violence brilliantly shows off the epic skill of the rhythm section, led by Griffin and Prinsse – a song led by pulsing and volatile tempo changes, there’s an always present feeling of mystery throughout – except in the chorus of course, which explodes into vibrant melody at the strike of the final, reverberating bass frequencies. Here’s an anthem reinforced by ideas dating to funk-metal, yet their take on the idea makes for the sensation that they’ve invented a new artifice, made from the bones of their exploratory concepts.
Soon after, Salt begins on a twinkling of piano before spilling over into a far more grandiose arrangement. The track revels in uniqueness and exceptionality. Almost feeling like going behind the scenes in a demented and ingenious circus, there’s a theatrical flair to the way the opening lead harmonies cascade and flow in truly bombastic stature – the keys, gentle yet erratic contradiction and sinuous progressions, furthering the surreal and existential feel. Furthermore, no section lasts longer than needed. Every moment is commanded as if with the expertise of performers who have absorbed the full spectrum of genre knowledge and learned its secrets. Resonate achieves exactly that – the slow-burning, sombre development arising an instant of genuine serenity, even if the sparse instrumentation makes for more of an emotional experience than a complex one. Oceanrise, by logical sequence, begins on that same sombre note, yet explodes into glorious colour as the instruments come flowing into an expressive chorale – the layers upon layers of cerebral splendour working wonderfully with the ominous assets. By reflection, these differences make the record work supremely well – from minute to minute, you never grow tired, and each rabbit hole throws up new, exhilarating journeys.
Granting yet more life to the experiences lasting permanence is the abrasive and striking Valkyrie – so variable is the fast-moving evolution, that the listener feels cast high to witness a landscape view of different environments – from desolate wastelands to rolling hills and lively rivers. I mentioned earlier that through the exuberant artwork, you capture a glimpse of that soaring majesty that operatic experimentations like these impart – Breathtaking. If you feel I’m being exaggerated in my exciting use of language – And, I am a little, to be honest – l ask you, hear for yourself, tell me whether I’m right or wrong. Seven tracks in and I’m failing to find a single flaw with Rise Radiant. Autumn is a luscious and serenading acoustic piece with touching bass and key embellishments, that ascent to a heroic solo, wrapping sadness up with elation in comforting style. We end on The Ascent – a ten-minute swelling that brings the components of extremity, pure musical glory, and adventurous spirit to an epic and affecting climax. Everything Caligula's Horse are is captured in these 10 minutes. Indeed throughout this record, they prove themselves and excite us for their future. 10/10
Ignition: Call Of The Sirens (Roll The Bones Records) [Bob Shoesmith]
This is the second album release from 5-piece power metal band from Duisburg, Germany on Roll The Bones Records since their 2016 debut - Guided By The Waves. If you are a fan of Trivium, Testament or Savage Messiah (with more than a nod to Maiden or Scorpions) you will be right at home here.This albums strength is its variety of writing. It has a collection of tracks that has some satisfying changes of pace and power - compared to others in the genre – that keep it fresh and you listening. While you will definitely find all your favourite metal ingredients on display; Twin guitar embellishment, occasional blast beats and some familiar, well-trodden, metal imagery with tracks like The Cleansing, Marching Into Battle and the eponymous Call Of The Sirens. For a relatively young band they know when to push the accelerator and thrash out and when to ease off and even throw in some commercial hooks like on the stand-out track Cobra Kai.
The musicianship is tight throughout with Dennis Marshallik’s vocals, sung in perfect English, have a great balance of melody, complimentary backing vocals and just enough gruffness to please most genres of metal fans. Dominik Timms busy but razor sharp drumming is also worthy of a special mention. Ignition are a good, melodic metal band who will be competing with a lot of similar bands in their genre. They can clearly write and perform some great, hooky and powerful music and if they can avoid some of the major clichés that metal bands love, and keep it fresh as this they could start to stand out from the crowd. 7/10
Leather Witch: Leather Witch (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]
Leather Witch: Leather Witch (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]
With a name like Leather Witch you pretty much know what you are going to get and that is a shot of pure 80’s styled heavy fucking metal. Leather Witch certainly meet those expectations with the self titled debut album from the Colombian metal band. I have to say I am a bit of a sucker for this traditional heavy metal revival. As much as I love different and experimental subgenres and avant-garde crossovers into other musical genres it is testament to the longevity of heavy metal that it still sounds good in 2020 when taken back to its basic form. Although there are bands that do it better than Leather Witch this is a very solid album full of fist pumping metal anthems harking back to the days of denim and leather. There is a big NWOBHM influence running through the album with nods to the speed metal bands of the early 80’s. You are not going to find anything new here just a band wearing their influences on their sleeves and playing heavy metal in the style of yesteryear.
Songs such as Day Of Glory, Pull The Trigger, Leather Witch and No Pain, No Game certainly got the foot tapping and the head a nodding. The vocals by Tania Ospina Gomez are a bit inconsistent sometimes sounding awesome and other times a bit on the uneven side. Her gritty and gnarly style does fit in with the rough and ready heavy metal sound throughout the album. Leather Witch is a very good debut for the band and it sounds excellent and very professional (having been produced by Fredrik Folkare of Unleashed). If you are looking for a genre spanning progressive masterpiece then look elsewhere but if you want some straight up heavy metal to play loudly whilst you chug a load of beers then you can’t go wrong here. 7/10
Mad Hatter: Pieces Of Reality (Art Gates Records) [Simon Black]
I can’t tell you much too much about this band, other than it’s their sophomore album not helped by the fact that there are plenty of other acts out there using the same name, but this Swedish 4 piece appear to be great fans of Lewis Carol’s works, as there’s plenty of conceptual and thematic content from the two Alice books in here, if the name of the band wasn’t a clear enough signal of their direction of travel. Oh, and that it’s as cheesier than a Wallace And Gromit movie set in a cheese shop on the moon (which as everyone knows is made of cheese).
The album opens with one of the cheesiest power metal intros I’ve heard since at least last month and we’re talking a plateful of gooey past it’s sell by and eat by date Stinking Bishop here - not the kind of safe hard cheese they like shaving off so much in Sweden, before heading into Master of the Night - a very predictable power metal piece. Although there’s some really nice drum work hidden in there, along with some nifty guitar breaks, unfortunately the positively ridiculous theatrical interlude in the middle 8 complete with cat-strangulation vocal effect leaves the impression that this is not so much spoof early-Helloween, as a band who may actually genuine in their intentions, but so lacking in self-awareness to the point of hilarity. Queen Of Hearts starts more positively, with a thundering drum line, but once again the forced vocals completely ruin what would otherwise be a competent and well-structured power metal anthem. Rutledge Asylum seems to be straight out of Lewis Carol’s pages lyrically, and after a couple of hit and miss numbers is actually a reasonable and well-structured song.
The title track is actually a lot more manageable, as the band try and slow the pace down slightly, and the vocals come back into a much more normal range. When they do, this band works, so I think they need a piece of reality here, and that reality is that this is a promising album that is completely spoilt by the vocal performance from a guy who should not try and emulate the likes of Michael Kiske and feel more confident in his natural range. I’m also not convinced by the comedy elements, Power Metal is self-parody incarnate at the best of times, and pushing the envelope like this doesn’t work, especially when the couple of tracks on here that seem more straight up really well. 4/10
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