Caliban
Back From Hell
Century Media Records
Germany’s Caliban have been plying their metalcore trade for in excess of 25 years now and it takes determination plus skill to stay in the game that long. Latest offering ‘Back From Hell’ shows just why the Essen band have been so successful. It features their original blunt force trauma by the bucket load, but also a more cerebral approach to the writing. There’s heaps of melody, clean vocals well and truly in the mix and the hand of experience pretty much everywhere. There are nods to classic metal too, mostly in the guitars. And the production is super crisp which highlights the well defined technical aspect of this well sorted record. In a landscape full of metalcore bands that have fallen by the wayside because they were too stubborn to move with the times Caliban once again show how it’s done.
Review by Gary Trueman