Words by Daniel Levy
Images by Nesher Photography
Dallas, TX, Granada Theatre – Feb 16th, 2024
After having to cancel their 2020 tour (due to obvious reasons), prog metal giants Caligula’s Horse finally come to our side of the pond for their first North American headlining tour. I got to watch them at the beautiful Granada Theater in Dallas and this is how it went.
First things first, Caligula’s Horse brought Earthside alongside them as a support band. In case you’re not familiar, Earthside is an American band and their gimmick is having different guest vocalists for every song. They played mostly material from their latest album “Let the Truth Speak” with a 4-piece instrumental band, having the vocals in the backing tracks. They sounded great and warmed up the crowd for the main attraction.
C-Horse finally takes the stage and it was honestly surprising how much energy they brought straight out of the gate. This being the Charcoal Grace tour, they opened with a couple songs from their new album and the crowd sang every word with them. “The World Breathes With Me” and “Golem” were great showcases for guitar master Sam Vallen, who nailed every solo note for note.
The band managed to make a balanced setlist covering pretty much every album in their catalogue, and never a dull moment. There were too many great moments to highlight all of them, but definitely the songs from Rise Radiant were pretty special. They had the whole room singing the chorus of “Oceanrise” & “The Tempest,” echoing the tour that could not be. Some of their classic songs like “Dark Hair Down” & “Dream the Dead” got great reactions from the crowd as everyone was jumping and headbanging with the band. Sound production was also spot-on and brought out Dale Prinsse’s bass sound to the forefront.
An obvious inclusion to their setlist was “Bloom/Marigold,” the latter being their most well known song and it was a beautiful performance with one of the coolest build-ups in prog. They also managed to include a couple of surprises, including “Mute,” a popular epic from their latest album that puts every member of the band in the spotlight – especially drummer Josh Griffin playing double bass on insane tempos.
Singer Jim Grey steals the shows, he has everything – high energy, good connection with the crowd, never misses a note and on top of that, he had some funny anecdotes in between songs. All that with his powerful voice and dynamics shows he’s in a league of his own.
Closing out with the fan-favorite epic “Graves” was definitely the right call. I’ve been to many concerts in my life, but I don’t often feel the level of adrenaline that room felt during the ending of that song – there’s honestly nothing like it. That song alone proves that if Caligula’s Horse is coming somewhere near you, you should make sure not to miss what is going to be an unforgettable night.
Caligula’s Horse setlist:
The World Breathes With Me
Golem
Slow Violence
Dark Hair Down
Bloom
Marigold
The Tempest
Oceanrise
Dream the Dead
The Stormchaser
Mute
Graves
