ALBUM REVIEW: Dystopia – Caliban

Over the past decade, CALIBAN have quietly become an exceptional band. Back in 2012, the German veterans released I Am Nemesis, a record that proved there was life in metalcore’s old guard and since then, they’ve put out a formidable run of albums. Ghost Empire, Gravity and Elements were all impressive and despite the English-speaking world largely ignoring them, CALIBAN have had a very good ten years.

Dystopia sees the five-piece continue their streak and subtly evolve at the same time. Here we have 12 breakdown-heavy pit-anthems but with a couple of twists. It’s still recognisably a CALIBAN album and they’ve resisted any urge to venture into outright nu-metal territory, but there are a few hip-hop beats and trap-style vocals sprinkled throughout. This isn’t a band smashing their established sound to bits, but they have prodded at the edges and pushed the envelope a centimetre or two.

The opening title track for instance is at first glance another knuckle-headed fist swinger with the pre-requisite good cop/bad cop vocal performance. However, there’s a fiercely emotive clean vocal courtesy of ANNISOKAY singer Christoph Wieczorek, plus a weird, dreamy passage that offers a rare moment of eclecticism. VirUS on the other hand sees them marrying high-speed death metal with a huge, anthemic chorus and benefits from a cameo from HEAVEN SHALL BURN’s Marcus Bischoff. It’s not ground-breaking by any stretch, but it’s just different enough to stand apart from their older material. This is a slow evolution and it’s only noticeable if you’ve been paying close attention.

Later, Dragon sees a melodic vocal turn into a gang chant with remarkable ease, before wandering into a guttural final third. The following Hibernate however is probably the biggest curveball. This one isn’t a ballad, the power chords are too punishing for it to fit that description, but it’s dominated by clean vocals, the arrangements are lush and inviting and it escalates into an intensely passionate finale.

They don’t test themselves enough to alienate their audience though and there’s several straight-up metalcore ragers on here. Darkness I Became for example is a catchy slice of classic metalcore and a reminder that CALIBAN influenced a lot of bands they now have to open for. And curiously, two of the better tracks are saved for the end; mOther is an agonised roar that’ll delight anyone with the band’s name tattooed on their neck, while The World Breaks Everyone is a post-KILLSWITCH singalong built on a foundation made of riffs. The closing DIVIDED is a disappointing finish, but as it’s a bonus track it doesn’t count and is easily ignored.

Dystopia then is another reliably entertaining blast of Teutonic fury from one of the unsung heroes of metalcore. It’s a good entry-point for younger genre fans who’ve yet to check these lads out, while the willingness to play with their formula should keep older devotees intrigued. After 25 years plying their trade, CALIBAN show no sign of stopping and Dystopia is a welcome addition to their increasingly gem-stuffed catalogue.

Rating: 8/10

Dystopia is out now via Century Media Records.

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