Formation, Moments from Ephemeral City and Colossus (2011) In early 2011, Caligula's Horse was formed by Sam Vallen and Jim Grey. The band is named after the prized possession,
Incitatus, of
Roman Emperor Caligula by Grey, who was studying ancient history and classical languages at university. Initially Caligula's Horse consisted of only Grey on vocals and Vallen playing multiple instruments. Their debut album
Moments from Ephemeral City was independently released on 2 April 2011. Vallen is credited with the songwriting, guitars, production, audio engineering, mixing and mastering. The band initially could not decide whether to continue or not, but after the online response for their album they decided they should expand their lineup for live shows. The lineup expanded to include Zac Greensill, Geoff Irish and Dave Couper. To showcase their new lineup a two-track EP
Colossus was released in September 2011.
''The Tide, the Thief & River's End'' (2012–2014) In mid 2012, the band entered the studio to commence their follow-up LP. Their second studio album, ''
The Tide, the Thief & River's End'', was released 13 October 2013 through Welkin Records. This was a
concept album with each track listed in a chronological order to tell a story that refers to the uprising of rebels, called "The Tide", within the city of "River's End", and a journey of oppressed people finding a safe haven that has unfortunate similarities between the old and new city. "The Thief" is the only character who remains in the story from start to finish. The band undertook an intense touring schedule within Australia after the release of the album, and became known for their energetic live show and stage presence. The band was part of Progfest Sydney 2013 and Progfest Melbourne 2014. They toured with bands
Opeth,
Mastodon,
The Dillinger Escape Plan,
Protest the Hero,
The Ocean,
Firewind,
Twelve Foot Ninja, and
Ne Obliviscaris. and in its debut week on the ARIA charts it reached number 16 on the Australian band's chart and 75 on the overall chart. An official music video was released for "Firelight" off the
Bloom album. Caligula's Horse began their first
European tour with
Shining in October and November 2015. Sam Vallen and Zac Greensill were nominated on Total Guitar reader's poll for the best prog rock guitarist of 2015. On 30 May 2016, it was announced that Geoff Irish had left the band. On 10 August 2016, Josh Griffin was announced as Irish's replacement. On 28 January 2017, rhythm guitarist Zac Greensill announced his departure to focus on his side project, Opus of a Machine. He was replaced by Adrian Goleby, who had played bass in Arcane, Jim Grey's first band.
In Contact (2017–2019) On 4 August 2017, the song "Will's Song (Let the Colours Run)" was released along with its music video on 23 August, as a tease to their new album. On 15 September 2017, the band published
In Contact, the first featuring Adrian Goleby and Josh Griffin.
In Contact received a positive review on Angry Metal Guy. On 10 December 2018, Dave Couper announced his departure from the band, mainly for health and financial reasons, as well as other musical aspirations. On 5 March 2019, Dale Prinsse was announced as the new bassist. He was already known for having formerly being called "C-Horse's sixth member", helping them with the mixing and production of their albums, and for playing bass in Opus of a Machine. In September 2019, the band played their first four concerts in the
Americas.
Rise Radiant (2020–2023) On 22 May 2020, the band released their fifth album
Rise Radiant. On 7 December, the band unveiled the second single "The World Breathes with Me". On 11 January 2024, two weeks before the album release, the band premiered the third single "The Stormchaser" along with a music video. == Musical style and influences ==