{"id":28303,"date":"2015-10-16T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T20:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=28303"},"modified":"2015-10-15T22:50:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T11:50:09","slug":"caligula%e2%80%99s-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2015\/10\/caligula%e2%80%99s-horse\/","title":{"rendered":"Caligula\u2019s Horse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n<\/a>\u201c\u2026so we wanted to go a little bit different with this one, deliberately not do a concept album and just write a collection of songs that have an uplifting message that have a colourful sound and a vibrancy to them and go for an energy that matches our live show as well because we have quite a physical and energetic live show\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Melding the forthright intensity of rock with the skill and inventiveness of progressive metal, Brisbane’s Caligula’s Horse have announced the release of their third record ‘Bloom’ through InsideOut Music on October 16, plus extensive Australian and European tour dates. Caligula’s Horse are known for their energetic live show and fierce stage presence, a quality that has seen them join the likes of Opeth, Mastodon, The Ocean and Protest The Hero on the stage and the road. This kind of intense touring regime will see them right at home.<\/p>\n

Jim from Caligula\u2019s Horse gave us a call to chat about the band\u2019s new album \u2018Bloom\u2019, its creation, growth as a band, touring and much more\u2026<\/p>\n

To start us off, for those that may not be aware of the band, how would you best describe the sound and style of the band?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s progressive, alternative rock is what we define it as which is silly as genre definitions are silly inherently, but we sort of have a melodic and energetic approach to sort of prog I guess. There are tinges of metal in there as well but it\u2019s overall pretty energetic and driving stuff.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bloom\u2019 is your newest and third record, so did you set out to do anything different from previous releases this time around?<\/strong>
\nYeah totally, \u2018Bloom\u2019 we wanted to be a natural growth, like a step forward from where we\u2019ve been in the past and we\u2019ve had these two albums \u2018Moments\u2026\u2019 and \u2018River\u2019s End\u2026\u2019 and \u2018River\u2019s End\u2026\u2019 was a really dark, conceptual work and that kind of things it\u2019s got a dark story and the sound definitely reflected that it was very heavy kind of content, so we wanted to go a little bit different with this one, deliberately not do a concept album and just write a collection of songs that have an uplifting message that have a colourful sound and a vibrancy to them and go for an energy that matches our live show as well because we have quite a physical and energetic live show. I think we\u2019ve really achieved that and I\u2019m really, really happy with \u2018Bloom\u2019.<\/p>\n

So with both albums previously essentially concept based what was it like doing it this way this time around?<\/strong>
\n‘Moments From Ephemeral City’ it was more sort of an album of themes with interlinking ideas but not necessarily a concept album, we just didn\u2019t want to repeat ourselves with another concept album because we know a lot of artists that do that and that\u2019s their primary form of communication, but again we\u2019re always going to be reflecting who we are as musicians now, we\u2019re always going to be writing the way that we want to now, so that\u2019s the way we can look at the whole thing as changing. It\u2019s really refreshing, I can imagine it\u2019s very tiresome to write the same way all the time, I mean I love to write with a conceptual basis don\u2019t get me wrong, I absolutely love it because it gives you a framework for everything and you have to sort of write themes and ideas based on where you\u2019re at in a plot piece or from a characters perspective or something like that and it makes things a lot more structured and easier to write if you\u2019re not just trying to drag an idea from the ether. Doing this, writing this collection of songs has sort of given me a refresher in terms of writing and I think a lot of the content is quite exciting just based on that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always interested in the titles of albums and why they scored the naming rights, so what does \u2018Bloom\u2019 represent to you?<\/strong>
\nWell, growth really, I mean it sort of explains itself I suppose, it\u2019s one of those things that\u2019s a universal piece of imagery and I suppose that\u2019s quite pointed as well, because when we sat down to talk about the album we wanted to create something that was bright that was vibrant, we wanted to create something that represented growth to us and that was one of the first working titles that we threw down just to put a piece of imagery on the table to just have and unwind when we were writing, so \u2018Bloom\u2019 really spoke to us so I guess that\u2019s why it stuck around.<\/p>\n

With three albums now in your catalogue, how do you feel you\u2019ve grown as artists in only the four years since your debut?<\/strong>
\nWell you know we\u2019ve all been making music for a long time, like I\u2019ve been singing in one professional capacity or another since I was like nine years old, Sam\u2019s been making music for about the same length of time and we\u2019ve all been in bands and whatever else. As a duo, as a song writing duo Sam and I have grown a great deal over the last sort of four or five years just because of the I suppose prolific amount of music that we\u2019ve had to release, like we\u2019ve done this a lot together so our conversations and our language with each other in the writing studio and recording studio is almost like a form of concentrated speech, we understand each other, we read each other\u2019s cues and it\u2019s a very natural process now. \u2018Bloom\u2019 only took less than six months from first inception to completion and that\u2019s like album ready product, fully recorded and that\u2019s very fast for us because previously we\u2019ve only been working on our own deadlines or whatever else, now we\u2019re working with InsideOut music based out of Germany, so hitting those deadlines was a lot harder but again our system is so set in place now that it was really easy to get it done.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a busy touring band also, with Australian dates and European dates on the horizon, how has the last few years of touring and opening for some big bands helped shape you as live performers?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s changed a lot, I think the more bands that you play with the better because there\u2019s always something you can take away. Whether you\u2019re supporting Opeth or watching the opening band that you\u2019re playing with on tour you\u2019re going to learn something about live performance because it\u2019s from somebody else, it\u2019s like a little workshop. I love talking shop with other singers too, it\u2019s kind of my favourite thing, so going on tour with all those bands and learning from them has really been an experience, and the more that you\u2019re on the road, the more people you meet and the better you become as a touring band. So yeah, I\u2019m really looking forward to this tour in Australia with TesseracT coming up, and those European dates are sort of like a bucket list for me so it\u2019s very exciting.<\/p>\n

How is the international market for you guys? I find a lot of bands can\u2019t get a break here but do well overseas, is that similar for you guys?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s sort of a mix really, we\u2019ve got some really strong support here in Australia, like really, really supportive and *laughs* very excited fans who are all anticipating the album a great deal, but ever since the start we\u2019ve had undercurrents of support from fans in underground groups from all around the world, purely those people that go out of their way to try and find new and original music from people they haven\u2019t heard of before, so word spread through them. Now thanks to signing to InsideOut, that comes with a legitimate in and a platform for an audience that we haven\u2019t reached before as well, so hopefully we sort of kick in the door in Europe and do quite well.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been the biggest thing you\u2019ve learned about being in a band that you didn\u2019t think was a part of the process when you began?<\/strong>
\n*laughs* Well I began it when I was seventeen, so I guess not being a dick is pretty important to have learned, which I was not doing for a long time *laughs* to use a double negative\u2026 I think for me really just the number of skillsets that you need to have as a modern band is something that I don\u2019t think I was quite prepared for, you come in thinking that I\u2019m a singer, I\u2019m going to come in and sing, do my job and I don\u2019t want to deal with anything else, but really you have to be a singer, you have to be a music video director, you have to write treatments, you have to operate a small business, you need to learn to book tours and do all this stuff and to advertise and of course to do interviews and stuff like that, that\u2019s a skill. So, there\u2019s a lot of things included in being a touring band and original musicians that you may not have expected when you start but then you learn on the road.<\/p>\n

So what is on your bucket list, as a band what\u2019s the one thing you really want to do?<\/strong>
\nI want to tour Europe, man, so that\u2019s a big tick, that\u2019s coming up *laughs* I think the only other one for me is I would like to play a show with Devin Townsend, I think that would be a real treat, I\u2019m a huge fan of his work, and we\u2019re actually label mates now because he\u2019s also signed with InsideOut, so now that\u2019s actually possible in the next sort of while. So that would be great for me, I would turn into mush if I met him\u2026<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get a bit of a personal insight into you with some quick fire questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What was the first album you bought?<\/strong>
\nActually was \u2018Neon Ballroom\u2019 from silverchair, I was thirteen and I was kind of late to the music buying game compared to now I guess because I\u2019m old\u2026 but that was an album that really affected me personally, so I\u2019m really glad I bought it.<\/p>\n

What band or artist made you want to be in a band?<\/strong>
\nooh, good question\u2026 probably Zack de La Rocha from Rage Against The Machine. My man Zack. Actually it\u2019s funny I came late to the game again, so Rage Against The Machine had already split up by the time I found them which was really depressing *laughs* but \u2018Evil Empire\u2019 just made me want to protest and get on stage and make people jump, that was about it.<\/p>\n

Who is your favourite band to see live?<\/strong>
\nOoh\u2026 good lord\u2026 I\u2019m going to go ahead and be repetitive and say Devin Townsend again, I\u2019ve seen him a couple of times now and it\u2019ll go from full on belly laughs at his silly insane comments in between songs, and absolute tears when he goes into one of my favourite songs and just tears into it. Particular highlight was him playing \u2018Dead Head\u2019 at The Tivoli years ago, that was awesome.<\/p>\n

Have you ever or would you ever consider covering Caligula\u2019s version of \u2018Tears of a Clown\u2019?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t think so, I\u2019m going to go ahead and say no, mostly because I haven\u2019t heard it *laughs*<\/p>\n

Lastly, let\u2019s look ahead to the future, finish this sentence for me, in 2016, Caligula\u2019s Horse will\u2026<\/strong>
\nProbably go back into the studio to write some more but don\u2019t quote me on that\u2026<\/p>\n

I have to *laughs*<\/strong>
\nYeah actually, that\u2019s wiped from the record, no, go for it\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Brisbane, Australia<\/p>\n

Band Members:<\/strong> Jim Grey – Lead Vocals, Zac Greensill – Guitar\/Vocals, Dave Couper – Bass\/Vocals, Geoff Irish \u2013 Drums, Sam Vallen – Guitar\/Everything Else<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> official facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong> Bloom (Out Now \u2013 InsideOut)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Catch Caligula\u2019s Horse on tour with TesseracT (UK)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tickets via www.tickets.destroyalllines.com<\/a><\/p>\n

16\/10 – Melbourne, Maxx Watt\u2019s
\n17\/10 – Adelaide, Fowlers Live
\n18\/10 – Perth, Amplifier Bar<\/p>\n

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES<\/strong>
\nWith Shining (Norway)
\n28\/10 – Gothenburg, Fangelset
\n29\/10 – Copenhagen, Lille Vega
\n31\/10 – Dresden, Grovestation
\n01\/11 – Krakow, Fabryka
\n02\/11 – Warsaw, Hydrozagadka
\n03\/11 – Wroclaw, Liverpool Club
\n04\/11 – Prague, Podnik
\n05\/11 – Vienna, Viper Room
\n06\/11 – Budapest, A38
\n07\/11 – Ljubljana, Kino Siska
\n08\/11 – Bologna, Locomotiv
\n09\/11 – Milan, Lo Fi
\n10\/11 – Winterthur, Salzhaus
\n12\/11 – Luxembourg, Sonic Visions
\n13\/11 – Frankfurt, Nachtleben
\n14\/11 – Stuttgart, Keller Club
\n15\/11 – Utrecht, Tivoli de Helling
\n16\/11 – Bochum, Matrix
\n17\/11 – Brussels, Rotonde
\n18\/11 – Paris, Divan Du Monde
\n19\/11 – London, Underworld
\n20\/11 – Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
\n21\/11 – Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms
\n22\/11 – Manchester, Sound Control<\/p>\n