Artist: Caliban
Label: Abacus Recordings
Release Date: 10/5/04
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Title: The Opposite from Within Artist: Caliban Label: Abacus Recordings Release Date: 10/5/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
It was a little over a year and a half ago when I was first introduced to this band. I remember being impressed by their last album, Shadow Hearts, but I complained that I was a little spent on the sound. Of course, now I'm not only spent on the 'metalcore' sound, I'm downright annoyed by its mere existence. If I have to see another spikey-haired teenager wearing Abercrombie and Fitch and crooning his angst, I might have to kill something.And despite all of this, I still like Caliban. And it's not that Caliban are doing something all that different than all of the other cookie-cutter bands in this genre. In fact, in many ways they are very formulaic, but the simple fact is they do this sound as well as any of their peers. They write extremely catchy songs that somehow manage to maintain just enough of an edge to prevent them from falling off of the cliff of sappy stereotypes. Sure, the clean vocals are as predictable and interchangeable as any other 'metalcore' singer out there, but this band succeeds by taking no chances and relying on their talent to boost them above all of the other din in the record store.
"One word review: Solid." In all honesty, this band is a victim of the genre it's in, and probably deserves better than what I'm giving them here. I do enjoy listening to this album a great deal, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's just impossible for me to get all too excited over a band that is so much of a 'paint-by-numbers' sort of thing. Granted, they are playing to their strengths, utilizing catchy grooves and stompin' breakdowns, and in that respect this album must be considered a success. But there's a big difference between an album that moves you and an album that just gets the job done. One word review: Solid.
Death's Review:
" Good, not great." Caliban's new album, The Opposite From Within, comes to you courtesy of Abacus Recordings. Their new album is timely in its sound and style and may be of great interest to many out there, sounding like a rawer, more extreme Killswitch Engage at times. What separates Caliban from bands like Killswitch, Shadows Fall or even Unearth is that in part, the guitar playing is just not there on the same level, but also in part the fact is that those other bands (even Unearth) are simply more metal. What Caliban are, is the heaviest of all of those bands, at least at times. The opening track on The Opposite From Within slays with a punishing heavier-than-At the Gates type downtuned riff that is killer - death metal - but evokes that Slipknot-style "break things" kind of sugar rush (Chimaira sometimes capture this sound as well); yet, like Killswitch Engage, alternates between that and very soft melodic parts with emotional vocals. This works to a point, I just don't like the clear singing here as much as I like Howard Jones's (I do however, like it when the band kicks into parts that remind me a bit of Life of Agony such as the "the long kiss goodbye" part of "Goodbye"). I also don't think the songwriting is on the same level as those bands. Caliban is close and should do well with a lot of metal fans these days, but they are decidedly B-tier at this point relative to those scene leaders. Perhaps it is just me - maybe I'm just reacting to some of the band's hardcore leanings. But really, while this is a nice effort, it feels to me a bit too routine overall. Good, not great. At least insofar as Caliban are held up to the same standard as the current genre-leaders, I don't think you should be shelling out your money for this album and thus passing up some of the better-known new releases out there (Mastodon, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Megadeth) if you have limited funds. But if you've got the resources/ability/desire to see what else is out there, and want something else like the other stuff you've been hearing on Headbanger's Ball lately only slightly different, then you might want to check this one out.
Hel's Review:
On paper, Caliban is a band that I probably ought to like. The other bands they are most often compared to or mentioned alongside are ones that, for the most part, I do enjoy. But I have grown extremely weary of this sound and invariably, at the end of the day, I consistently find this metalcore band is far too "core" and not enough "metal" to suit my tastes. There are three major components that cause a band to fall more on one side than the other of this fine line: vocals, drums, and song structure. On all three points, I find Caliban falling on the hardcore side of the line.The vocals are the most immediate sticking point for me. The screams are delivered in a strict hardcore style. Then there are the many moments when clean vocals are utilized, and these invariably invoke an emo vibe; if there is anything I can't stand more than hardcore screams, it's emo clean vox. So given all of this, Caliban is immediately out of the running for "band that I would voluntarily listen to."
"Hardcore kids: go buy this album!" The drummer comes the closest to qualifying as metal in my three-factor test. There are some brilliant double bass moments, and at certain times he pounds his kit in a truly metal fashion. Unfortunately, to pass this portion of my test, a drummer needs to be undeniably metal, and there are enough times when the drumming backs off and mellows out to the more standard style found in most hardcore bands to disqualify him from being defined as "undeniably metal." I might change my mind about this if I watched him play live, but for now, my call stands.
Finally, we reach song structure. Most hardcore songs have a consistent, predictable pattern that includes verses, chorus, and a breakdown or maybe even two. The order is occasionally switched up, but for the most part, every song followed a variation on this pattern. The majority of songs on The Opposite from Within can be dissected into these components rather easily. Now, there is the occasional band that can take this formula and still create a very metal song, but invariably the thing that makes it work is a fast, heavy metal guitar riff driving the breakdown section. Caliban really does not achieve this, and ultimately, fails my third test as well.
Now, on the grand scale of hardcore bands, I would certainly rank these guys toward the top of the heap. The songs, even though they do generally follow the structural formula, are more inventive and diverse than most bands in the genre are able to achieve. The overall musicianship is excellent. Caliban's sound is just not one that I personally enjoy. I would, however, heartily recommend them to any and all hardcore fans, since they are head and shoulders above most of that crowd. Considering the recent boom in the scene, it would be an absolute crime if Caliban did not end up at the top of the pile of these bands as they rise through the mainstream.
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