Caliban from Germany exist as one of those modern metalcore acts that have definitely been around the block several times by this point. Since their late 1990s inception, the band, thus far, released eleven full length albums in addition to two EPs, well over a dozen music videos and as well as two splits with Heaven Shall Burn. The five-piece has toured countless times and now their latest release is finally upon us all. Let's see how this one is.
The new full length album from the German metallers titled Elements is a fifteen or so track release that amounts to nearly one hour of destructively emotional and hard-hittingly smooth metalcore. Made available through the Century Media Records label both digitally and physically, Elements serves as a continuation to many of the themes and musical aspects of the band's previous works.
The catchy choruses throughout this release as well as the stellar guitar riffs towards the album's climax are a staple of Elements and highlight some of the music's strong points. Not much to say production-wise, it works for what it is and the rest of the instrumentals are pretty standard Caliban. Vocals are pretty interesting, since the mixture of cleans and harsh vocals on this release is better experimented with, I felt. The progression of the music aids in the structure of the vocal progression, as well, with the harsh verse-clean chorus formula heavily at play.
Some of the tracks contain filler audio or drag on a bit much at the end of the day. The album itself feels a tad overlong in general. Also, this release is pretty typical Caliban metalcore...which is not a bad thing, but nothing we haven't heard before.
To summarize, while Elements still ultimately comes out as a fairly solid addition to the band's discography, it is a pretty standard continuation of the old Caliban formula. If you've enjoyed everything else the band has put out in the past, then you'll probably like this one as well. However, if you were hoping for something unique for this album, then you may end up feeling a bit underwhelmed in some aspects. Nonetheless, I still urge all fanatics of the artist as well as the metalcore genre to check this one out for themselves...as it still packs a punch and has some merits and bangers to it.
Fave Tracks: "Ich Blute Fur Dich", "I Am Fear", "Masquerade"
For Fans Of: Heaven Shall Burn, Chimaera
**This release is available now here!**
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-Review by: Dave Raffy
Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
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