  
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it applies
to most things in life; it however didn’t
apply to German metal acts Caliban who began what
I call a rebirth with 2009’s “Say
Hello To Tragedy” but really made their
point on 2012’s “I Am Nemesis”
really pushing the heavier side to their style
to new depths especially with “We Are The
Many”. They fixed what I call was a glitch
in the system as all the pieces were there that
spelled greatness, all the did was polish one
of the parts that had got a bit dusty; they’ve
managed to keep the metalcore elements they founded
on with the clean vocals and mix up of gentle
and aggressive tones, they’ve just really
boosted their technique arsenal adding some that
really push through a clearer drop dead metal
sound. So now my interest has been tickled once
more is the momentum going to push forward into
2014?
Beautifully if I don’t say so myself! Album
opener “King” has exactly what I was
hoping for; crunchy tone, electronic vibe, ominous
atmosphere with a retention of melody and rhythm
that they always brought forth with their metalcore
edge, I like the fact they seem to be taking a
huge influence from the latest movement in djent
writing, they adapt some techniques that fit to
their sound without completely rearranging the
formula. They still have those songs that tie
them to their younger years like “I Am Rebellion”
and “I Am Ghost” which even still
are peppered with a rejuvenated sound that simply
oozes musical growth and maturity in ways of which
I have only encountered on a very limited amount
of occasions. “Chaos – Creation”
and “yOUR Song” are 2 of the ones
alongside the opener that really epitomise what
I was looking for from this album going on what
I was hearing on the previous, they’ve really
got this sound down now with the mixture of melodic
yet gritty chorus lines that can be severed in
the blink of an eye by enormous bass drops and
aggressive tempo changes.
I’ve praised this thing through the roof
with just cause may I add because it truly is
a fantastic piece of work, the problem I can see
the band facing now is that they know what they’re
doing much like they did before when they reached
the peak of their style is how do you possibly
follow that up? Risk putting out more of the same
and having yourselves slated for sounding stale
or risk over experimenting with a good style?
Only time will tell what will come next but they
can ride this for a couple of years now and be
extremely proud of what they’ve achieved.
4.5/5
Review by James Webb
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