Album Review - Back From Hell - Caliban

German metalcore mainstays Caliban deliver tried and true metalcore with latest release Back From Hell. For the band’s fourteenth studio album, Caliban are not pulling any punches although, for an act that has enjoyed such longevity, they still have the ability to throw in one or two surprises.

Metalcore these days more often than not falls into the trap of same old, same old with so many bands sounding alike and trying their best to ride on the coattails of successful pace setters such as Killswitch Engage, Bleeding Through or Parkway Drive. It can indeed be argued that its metal’s most mundane and yet changeable sub-genre, with many a band embracing and adopting totally (and sometimes wholly unexpected) changes in their sonic output. But there are still some acts that retain their root sound, whilst still delivering a staggering blast that has you headbanging along and madly desiring to punch a wall. Caliban is one such band and, without seeming to seek so much of the limelight, are a band that fans of the genre really should be touting as one of the best out there by now.

Back From Hell is the result of 2 and a half years of a creative honing and redesign of their sound, as the band have stated prior to its release. This absolutely doesn’t mean that Caliban have spent that time deciding what type of sound would propel them onto the radio charts or drag new swathes of fans that have so readily embraced Bring Me The Horizon or the aforementioned Parkway Drive- now selling out arenas on a regular basis. Instead the band have explored avenues that are still refreshing yet steadfastly sticking to what made the genre so satisfying in the first place.

With proper opening track “Guilt Trip,” featuring Mental Cruelty, Caliban have set out exactly what they have in store for the listener with a riff and vocal approach that reminds one more of Behemoth than Architects and a blackened death sound that fits the band well as they clearly steer their sound in this direction throughout the album (more on this point later). The band embrace an aggression that perhaps many metalcore acts shy away from in recent times and this makes “Guilt Trip” and the rest of the record very pleasing to spend time with. None of this is to say that Caliban have suddenly left their more melodic side behind as each track features a catchy chorus that the band have expertly crafted to leave you humming along, long after the song is finished.

The sudden shift from earth-shattering, pummelling beats could easily be too much of a jarring change if in the hands of a less capable band, but Caliban prove that they can easily show how it’s done by delivering punch after crunching punch with hardly a let up for air. And, as if to drive the point home, it’s the collaborations that really stand out. In particular, “Dear Suffering,” which features a guest spot from deathcore veterans Fit For An Autopsy, sets the pulse racing with a punishingly djenty riff that smacks right in the mouth. This collaboration is prescient as deathcore has experienced a bit of a revival of late, with a number of bands releasing praise worthy albums with Fit For An Autopsy being one of them. Caliban manage to steep their own sound in the waters of deathcore without it sounding naff or forced to exist where it does not fit. Title track “Back From Hell” featuring The Browning is another similar stand out as Caliban continue to wield the brutality of deathcore into something that lovers of all thing heavy can get behind.

It is only toward the back end of the album that Caliban retain the more familiar sound of

modern metalcore with the ballady “Solace In Suffer.” While providing for a perhaps well-

earned respite from the belligerence of the previous ten tracks, the song has a well-crafted

hooky vocal performance from singer Andreas Dörner overlaid with a crunching guitar riff that doesn’t seem to notice that the song is meant to be a more steady, emotional come down. This is where Caliban show that metalcore can competently be equal parts catchy and ferocious.

For a band presenting us with their fourteenth album, there is no sign of a let up of intensity and Back From Hell can easily be a sleeper hit of the year with something for every fan of the genre.