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Tracklist
1. I Will Never Let You Down
2. Let Go
3. Another Cold Day
4. My Time Has Come
5. Life Is Too Short
6. Give Me A Reason
7. Stop Running
8. The Awakening
9. I Believe
10. Rise And Fight
11. Nowhere To Run, No Place To Hide
12. I'll Show No Fear
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In a music industry where one hit wonders are more common than Metallica tribute bands, it is an accomplished feat in itself for a group to still be recording and releasing material after ten years together. It is nothing short of phenomenal if the group, after this time, are still delivering goods of high quality. Caliban’s 2006 release ‘The Undying Darkness’ showed no signs of slack or fatigue in a career furnished with numerous recordings, rave reviews and all round support and success. However with this, their latest offering, it appears as if the German metalcore quintet are finally beginning to feel the bite of age.
Look past the initial impact of storming opener ‘I Will Never Let You Down’ and you are left with a record that cannot help but fall flat and bland. The metalcore riffs, melodic choruses and fast paced, scream laden savagery that we’ve come to expect are all in place; yet something is missing. ‘The Awakening’ lacks the inspiring melodic quality of ‘The Undying Darkness’ and falls short of the passion and power of ‘Opposite from Within’. What’s more, production so refined that it almost appears mathematical in its execution crossed with singing seemingly devoid of feeling and effort means the rawness and grit of past records are long since extinguished. That’s not to say it’s all bad. As most standard metalcore records go, this stands firm with the rest of them. Hard hitting riffs, pounding bass and a more than ample selection of breakdowns are layered across a wide selection of adequately strong tracks. But as we skip from song to song, past the slightly memorable yet disappointingly uninspired chorus of ‘My Time Has Come’, through the high pitched, epic styled, ‘Life Is Too Short’ and past the effective yet predictable opening of penultimate number ‘Nowhere To Run, No Place To Hide’, we’re left with the unavoidable feeling that we’ve heard it all before. Ideas that would once have seemed exhilaratingly crushing are now dragged to their limits, appearing as nothing more than an overused set of tired clichés lined up one after the other for the sake of providing sound.
Overall: disappointing considering what Caliban are known to be capable of. Hopefully ‘The Awakening’ merely marks a momentary down point in their otherwise outstanding back catalogue. We must pray it does not signal the beginning of the descent of a band who have given so much to the scene to which they belong.
Review by: Robert Yates
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