About
Sam Vallen is the lead guitarist and musical director of Australian progressive metal band Caligula’s Horse, as well as a producer, songwriter, and music educator. He holds a doctorate in music from the Queensland Conservatorium.
With Caligula’s Horse, Vallen has released six critically acclaimed records, the latter four through progressive record label Inside Out Music (Sony). Caligula's Horse has toured the world both as a headline act and alongside the likes of Mastodon, Opeth, Devin Townsend, and many others. In 2024, Caligula’s Horse released their sixth record, ‘Charcoal Grace’ to global acclaim. ‘Charcoal Grace’ reflects the band’s experiences through the pandemic years, wrestling with identity, inertia, and with the sinister impulses of humanity displayed wantonly throughout the period. Although dark, it is ultimately a record about catharsis; about reconnection and striving forward again.
Vallen currently lectures in music theory and audio production, as well as training the next generation of guitarists at the Queensland Conservatorium. He has performed guitar clinics throughout Australia and has privately taught for the better part of two decades. As a producer, mix engineer, arranger, and songwriter, Vallen has worked with established and up-and-coming artists in diverse musical styles, from progressive metal to pop, channeling an extensive musical vocabulary to these artists’ sonic and creative desires.
In 2020 Vallen completed a PhD in music at the Queensland Conservatorium exploring the history of progressive rock and its position as a progressive musical style. He has published in several academic journals and presented conference papers both in Australia and abroad.