Considering their current iteration, it’s amazing to think that Germany’s Caliban got their start playing shows with Earth Crisis in the late ‘90s. They’ve survived many rises and falls in the metalcore genre, managing to keep up with the times without losing their sense of self. That said, the teasers for their 13th full-length Dystopia fit in nicely with the post-metalcore wave, but Caliban still harks back to the many eras of heavy music they’ve partook in over the past two-and-a-half decades.
Caliban reps their country hard with the opening title track and single "VirUs." The former's chorus benefits from the passionate croonings of Christoph Wieczorek of post-hardcore mainstays Annisokay, while the latter beefs out its heavier side with Marcus Bischoff of Heaven Shall Burn. Both cuts bring metalcore back to its melo-death roots, balancing agile riffage with hard-nosed two-steps, skronky panic chords and bombastic breakdowns. But it's the title track's inexplicable foray into trap-style vocal caudences and dreamy hip-hop beats that show Caliban's desire to push their familiar sound into the future.
With Benjamin Richter (who produced goth-metal titans Moonspell) behind the mixing board, the depth of Dystopia's sonics reveals itself in less technical cuts like "Ascent of the Blessed." Caliban's expansive dynamics and soundscapes elevate guitarist Denis Schmidt's killer singing, as he provides rhythm support for guitarist Marc Görtz's spectral leads with ascending chord progressions. These lush, intricate arrangements allow the climaxes to reach even higher, like "Hibernate" finding a splendid foil for its explosive chorus in the verse's mournful drones, trip-hop beats and whispery melodies.
Caliban elevates metalcore's good-cop-bad-cop pattern by contextualizing both ends of the spectrum within interesting ideas. They're not afraid to sing over punishing chugs on "Phantom Pain," or embody the ruthless aggression of the New Wave of American metal during the verses. Even a more standard affair like "Dragon" gets an extra push of brutality from the demonic retches of Job For A Cowboy's own Jonny Davy. The band knew exactly where to up the nastiness—at the tail end of an album more concerned with empowerment than its scare factor.
While the Chester Bennington-ish singing and melodramatic leads on "Alien" might bring newer Architects songs, Caliban maintains their identity by adding old-school riff writing when it counts. The melodic quotient of "sWords" certainly has 2022 steeze, but its heavier quotient has a more timeless quality to get fans of multiple generations headbanging. Likewise, the classic four-on-floor stomp in "Darkness I Became" comes as a pleasant surprise alongside its more contemporary chorus—an effect also achieved by "The World Breaks Everyone." Others might've gone with butt-rock, but Caliban preserves the artistic nucleus they so many years ago while doing more recent stylings justice.
Perhaps this is why Caliban can get away with some familiar "chugga-chugga" riffs on "mOther;" they're not afraid to imbue echoes of the past with tasteful ornamentations gleaned from the current scene. It certainly helps the dirge-like procession of the closing cut "D I V I D E D," which offers one more dose of trap stylings amid its syncopated guitar stabs and divebomb string bends. It somehow finds room for battle-hardened melo-death flavors amid the explosive half-time mosh parts and the haunting ambiance that lays the album to rest.
It's easy to approach an album like this with disdain… "oh great, another metalcore album." The usual hallmarks are all there, but Caliban brings a tasteful array of influences to the table, joined together with no fear of taking risks to keep their tried-and-true sound from getting stale. 25 years into their career, Caliban has made a worthy entry point into their oft-overlooked discography. For those who slept on them until now, it's a good time to hop on board!
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