Caligula’s Horse, Reliqa, Keyan @ UniBar, Adelaide 14/6/2024
My first ever review was Caligula’s Horse at the old Fowlers Live, Adelaide back in 2016 and strangely I’ve never seen them since. So seeing them tonight at the new UniBar set up was quite a special moment of coming together.
Since that time, the Brisbane outfit have evolved and morphed into one of the countries finest exports of progressive metal in a genre that Australia excels at.
It’s not just the virtuoso guitar playing, or the insane drumming and time changes – it’s the warmth of the vocals, the swaying of the bass underneath that lifts you up into a dream like state of sonic euphoria mixed with a ton of bounce.
Before we get too deep in the headliners, what about the support acts? Opening was Adelaide’s Keyan, who is guitarist extraordinaire Keyan Houshmend. Backed by some of Adelaide’s most diverse and accomplished musicians, the instrumentalist lets his fingers do the talking through his guitar. Each song a tapestry of sounds, rhythms and landscapes not out of place in a sci-fi or fantasy movie. New song Swell though is one that diverts a little from soaring through the air, choosing to get down and gritty causing many to bounce.
Sydneysiders Reliqa are hot stuff at the moment, their star burning up the atmosphere on the back of extraordinary album Secrets Of The Future. They smartly lean heavily on the album in their set list, many of these songs marking their live setting debut.
Starting with Cave, the softer cerebral opening lulls the unsuspecting in, while those with knowledge gleefully await the moment the bands drops in like a hammer.
Following up with new tracks Killstar and Dying Light, the band absolutely shake the place. With every downbeat, every head bang, every cutting lyric, the band grow more and more comfortable with the music translating.
Vocalist Monique Pym discards the mic stand and prowl’s the stage as she belts out her words that at one point are soft in Sariah next spitting rap venom in ‘Physical’.
Tracks from the back catalogue such as genre bending Bearer Of Bad News, .blip and Mr Magic have everyone engrossed and clapping along while Terminal is arguably the show stopper of the night. My ears are still vibrating. There would be many attending who may not have know who Reliqa are tonight but judging by the queue at the merch desk after, they sure do now.
Which brings us back nicely to the headliners. Having recently toured around Europe extensively, their presence on this stage is powerful. A well-oiled machine of notes and beats.
Opening with The World Breathes With Me, vocalist Jim Grey cuts a figure of a man who knows he has the crowd eating out of his hand. There is banter, there are stories behind the songs and of course, there are his vocals which are pristine.
Marigold has the room bouncing along with the guitar work from Sam Vallen razor sharp, while Dream The Dead bangs the heads in unison as Josh Griffin pounds the life out of his drumkit.
While there is no Freebird as Grey sadly informs the front row, there is The Hands Are The Hardest, The Tempest and Slow Violence all which move the floor.
The soundscapes, the banter, the visuals that the music imprints on your brain, continue through with a glorious finish on Mute and Daughter Of The Mountain.
The nine years since i last, inexplicably, saw them have seen Caligula’s Horse mature into a storytelling, musical genius of precision, technique and creative power. There’s is not a shred of musical fat on this band, this was elite.
Live Review By Iain McCallum