Caliban-The Awakening

Record Label: Roadrunner Records
Year: 2007
Track Listing:
01. I will never let you down
02. Let go
03. Another cold day
04. My time has come
05. Life is too short
06. Give me a reason
07. Stop running
08. The awakening
09. I believe
10. Rise and fight
11. Nowhere to run, no place to hide
12. I’ll show no fear

German Death-Core band, Caliban have returned with their latest album, The Awakening. While it doesn’t see the band return to the form that made them so influential among bands such as Killswitch Engage, and Shadow Falls it is a baby step in the right direction.

While their last album, “The Undying Darkness” was considered a failure, and saw many fans scratching their heads and wondering if the band had completely lost the plot, “The Awakening” sees Caliban truly attempt to get back to their roots and the success of their earlier albums.

But while they are going in the right direction, they still have a far way to go. The choruses are as lengthy as ever, and there is much more aggression packed into each song but each song seems to lack transition.

The flow is awful, and while the band’s choruses show promise of what Caliban can do, the lead up to them leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth.

The only track that is successfully put together is “My Time has come”, which shows that the band does comprehend, if only briefly, that you don’t need to drop the aggression and insert clean vocals just because a chorus is coming up.

It’s a trap that the band fell into on their last album, and one that many other bands have also fallen into in recent times.

A highlight of the album is, that unlike “The Undying Darkness” the band seem to have inserted some passion into “The Awakening”.

Unfortunately even that is not going to save this album.

I give H

Official site

Caliban on myspace

Buy The Awakening