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Live Reviews : Caligula’s Horse, Chaos Divine & Glass Ocean @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney 15/04/2016

By on April 16, 2016

I arrive just in time for doors at the Oxford Art Factory this evening. It’s a bit stereotypical of Sydney I suppose, but the show isn’t sold out this evening, which is quite shocking to be honest. This being said there couldn’t have been many tickets left at the door once Caligula’s Horse took the stage at 10.30. But let’s start from the beginning.

caligula's horse aus tour 2016

First out is local opener, Glass Ocean. It is a band that I have never heard before, but I was very impressed with the band’s energy and the sound at the Factory was absolutely stellar from the get-go. It’s not hard to see why the Sydney outfit was given the opportunity to join this tour package. If you strip Caligula’s Horse metal elements, you’re pretty close to the sound of this Friday’s local support. That’s not to say that they’re a lacking some heavy moments, but overall the music feels low-key in comparison. One thing that makes this band stand out is the crazy dance moves of vocalist Tobias Atkins. I’ve never really thought of prog as a “danceable” genre as such, but obviously it works, and there were even some people in the crowd that joined in. I find Glass Ocean’s sound very captivating and the further they get into their set, the louder the crowd gets after every song. I think the locals did a good job warming up the crowd tonight.

What I noticed as soon as I arrived at the Art Factory is that there’s great diversity in the crowd. There are your typical Opeth kind of fans, but also many “normal” people that would look really out of place at a regular metal show. They also enjoy the show in completely different ways. Some are headbanging and moshing, some are just standing around, and a great deal of people are dancing as if their lives depended on it. Some didn’t seem to know any lyrics whatsoever, but that didn’t stop them from having a great deal of fun. I think all of the bands gained some completely new fans tonight.

Next up is Chaos Divine. Now, I’m actually quite ashamed to say that I haven’t ever listened to this band in the past. The name pops up around me all the time, but the music has eluded me until now. The first thing that happens is that the frontman David Anderton is motioning for the crowd to come closer to the stage and it makes a world of difference. The crowd wakes up almost instantly and becomes more responsive than before. Judging by the number of t-shirts I saw, it seems like Chaos Divine had a decent following here tonight. If Glass Ocean catered to the prog rock fans that are present, Chaos Divine are there to make the prog metal people happy. The music is at times ridiculously heavy, and absolutely brilliant. “Are you having a good time?!” Anderton asks, and the massive roar that he gets in return confirms that the audience is finally completely awake.

“I don’t think we have played this one in Sydney before. It’s from the new album”, announces Anderton as the intro of “Tides” washes over us. The next song completely floors me straight away. “Symbiotic” is also taken from the 2015 release ‘Colliding Skies’ and it is the best one of the entire set. “One Door” marks the end of Chaos Divine’s time with us on this fine evening and it was truly pleasant to witness the Perthians. They made a huge impression on me, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s going to spend the coming week discovering their music.

That leaves the main act of the evening. I have seen Caligula’s Horse once before, back in 2014 when they supported Voyager at the Factory Floor. I told vocalist Jim Grey after the show how far they’ve come in only two years. It’s quite crazy, really. The prog outfit from Brisbane takes the stage at around 10.30, and as I mentioned earlier, it really looks like a full house. They open up the set with some true heavy hitters from the new album, ‘Bloom’. “Rust”, followed by the title track and “Marigold” sets the tone for the rest of the set. It just so happens that those three songs are my favourites on ‘Bloom’, and they blew me away completely. Jim Grey is donning a tank top reading Real Australians Say Welcome. It is a subject that he would come back to many times over the next 75 or so minutes, talking about the “abhorrent” state of affairs regarding the refugees in this country, and how we must make our voices heard regarding this issue.

“This song is the theme song of Thomas the Tank Engine, no joke.” Jim Grey says, as the band follow up with the song “Atlas” from their second album. One of the big differences between Caligula’s Horse in 2014 and 2016 is definitely how much Grey has grown as a frontman. He really knows how to handle the audience, what to say and when to say it.

Tonight has been stellar in regards to brilliant vocals, but Caligula’s Horse tops everyone else. The raw and honest emotion in Grey’s voice is enchanting, and the response from the Sydney crowd is massive for the most part. “Are you ready to jump?!” Grey says as he’s about to present “Daughter of the Mountain”. Except, only a few people in the crowd are interested in jumping at first, it seems, as the response is almost non-existent. “Fuck off Sydney, are you ready to JUMP?!” And oh my, they jumped alright.

The end of the evening is approaching quickly as the band tears into “Alone In The World”. Then Jim Grey recites a poem about Charon, leading with the phrase, “We should all carry a coin for the boatman”. This was a very powerful moment that seemed to act as fuel for the crowd during the remainder of the show. To finish the evening, Grey asks the crowd if they want to hear “City Has No Empathy” or “Dark Hair Down”, only to follow up with: “this is bullshit, we’re playing both of them!”

Caligula’s Horse is truly one of the best Australian bands I have seen live. They didn’t leave a massive impact on me two years ago, but after an amazing album last year, along with tons more experience, they have grown into a force to be reckoned with. The chemistry between guitarists Zac Greensill and Sam Vallen is truly something special and Geoff Irish (drums) and Dave Couper (bass) are boasting one of the strongest backbones of any band I’ve seen over the last couple years.

I envision a great future for Caligula’s Horse. Considering how much they’ve grown in such a short amount of time and the fact that they are backed by a great label, I think the prog world is theirs for the taking. You should come along for the ride or regret it later on down the track.

The ‘Turntail’ tour continues in a sold out Canberra tonight, Newcastle tomorrow, and the big finale in Brisbane next weekend. Tickets available now through Wild Thing Presents and Oztix.

Saturday, April 16: The Basement, Canberra (SOLD OUT)

Sunday, April 17: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Saturday, April 23: The Zoo, Brisbane

About

Martin is an aspiring music photographer/videographer. He is originally from the southern parts of Sweden and now he's living in Sydney, Australia. Thanks to his older sister, he got into Rammstein at the age of 9, and since then he's been into all types of metal/rock. He loves to combine photography and music, but also filming concerts and produce live material. Follow him on Twitter and check out his website.