How to transform your personal demons into a musical triumph – review of “Back From Hell” by Caliban

Three years after “Dystopia”, Caliban is literally and figuratively “Back From Hell” with their new full-length that will be released in just a few days. The German band will release what I think is their most emotionally charged album so far. This record is a highly sentimental journey through darkness toward something like redemption and, more importantly, a musical progression.

I enjoyed the sounds, which are enhanced by layering and spatial arrangement that preserves the band’s distinctive heaviness while allowing almost every instrument space to breathe. The mixing has a very low end that is too present, but there is still a balance between all the elements.

The listening experience is polished to highlight the intricate arrangements and keeping a wide enough dynamic range to preserve the song’s emotional impact. Caliban have always mastered combining passion and melody, but “Back From Hell” is their most sophisticated application of both strategies to date.

The riffs are as strong as ever and serve as the foundation for melodies that explore new harmonic horizons; this is especially true in “Insomnia“, “Overdrive“, and my personal favorite, the single “I Was A Happy Kid Once” (not a coincidence I put the video just above!). Despite being a very homogeneous release, the listener won’t be bored at all during the 41 minutes of running time – if anything, we’ll be craving for more!

To sum up, if you enjoy metalcore, you will want to give a spin to “Back From Hell”. We all have battles, struggles and difficulties that we need to sort out, but it doesn’t mean that we’re alone in this. And thanks to Caliban, we have amazing soundtracks to our experiences, too!

Tracklist:

1. Resurgence
2. Guilt Trip (feat. Mental Cruelty)
3. I Was A Happy Kid Once
4. Back From Hell (feat. The Browning)
5. Insomnia
6. Dear Suffering (feat. Fit For An Autopsy)
7. Alte Seele
8. Overdrive
9. Infection
10. Glass Cage
11. Solace In Suffer
12. Till Death Do Us Part
13. Echoes