Review: “Back From Hell” by Caliban

Twenty eight years after they formed in Essen Germany, Metalcore stalwarts Caliban stand firm with original members in guitarist Mark Görtz and vocalist Andreas Dörner at the black beating heart of everything they do. They’re joined of course by long time drummer Patrick Grün and guitarist Denis Schmidt with album number fourteen “Back From Hell” a first for new bassist and clean vocalist Iain Duncan, a man whose past includes a two year stint in We Butter The Bread With Butter. Prior to its release the record has given up four singles that together have surpassed 1.3 million streams on Spotify alone, said to be the culmination of two and a half year creative journey of discovery and refinement. During that time the five piece worked with a creative team including producers David “Drave” Beule, labelmate, fellow musician and producer Buster Odeholm (Vildhjarta, Thrown, Humanity’s Last Breath), Matthias Tarnath (Nasty), and Nahuel Lozano (Mental Cruelty), alongside long-time collaborator and co-writer Benjamin Richter…

As with a lot of albums these days an introduction piece to set the tone feels like something of a necessary evil and for “Back From Hell” we’re given the cinematic overtures of “Resurgence“, a tune that builds atmosphere beautifully, capturing the attention before the bone snapping first cut proper takes shape in “Guilt Trip“. It’s the first of an unholy trinity of heavy hitting guest vocal appearances to make the album and features Lukas Nicolai of German Blackened Deathcore collective Mental Cruelty, meaning we get three voices on a single cut as Dörner and Duncan go toe to toe with him. For his part Duncan brings a bright clean chorus that floats over the top of melodic guitars with just a hint of American accenting. The rest of the track however is intense, Caliban sharpening their teeth with anvil heavy aggressive riffs to match the fierce unclean vocals from Nicolai and carrying it off in style. There will always be an argument about if the clean vocals are necessary and arguably they’re not but by this point it wouldn’t be Caliban if they didn’t have them. They’re ingrained in the very fabric of what the band do, it’s as simple as that. Dörner states “I Was A Happy Kid Once” which might be a song title that makes you crack a smile but in truth, a lot of the inner struggles can come in later life. As the two vocalists rage with introspective fury and beg to be saved from themselves, this Nu-Metal influenced cut embellished with programming resonates. Then comes the punch of the title track “Back From Hell” which finds Jonny McBee of The Browning joining the party. Something of a Nu-Metalcore cut, it slaps hard with punishing groove orientated riffage wrapped around bold clean choruses. Those are underpinned by programming as the band push the melodic and heavy elements as far apart as possible without losing the momentum and it works incredibly well.

Following a similar path but getting bolder with the programming and synths in the mid section “Insomnia” gives Duncan plenty of opportunity to shine and he does, the band creating a sing-a-long anthem which is heavily influenced by a Nu-Metal lyrical narrative. A killer breakdown section ushers in the final third and begs for a wall of death live, it’s that gut punch moment that a track of this nature begs for and they carry it off with verve and swagger. The same can be said of the punchy “Dear Suffering” which features Joe “Bad” Badolato of Fit For An Autopsy fame, a track which is darker than the blackest night and ominously imposing in stature. If you think Caliban can’t do Deathcore, guess again because the brutality of the ending of this one hits harder than a juggernaut broadsiding a truck on the freeway. Those abrasive tones continue into “Alte Seele” (the German for “Old Soul“), a track front loaded with high grade incendiary staccato riff breaks and throat shredding vocals. The clean vocals come in the mid section but are swiftly followed by galloping drums and another vicious tirade, the crushing atmospheric perfectly balanced. As razor sharp as the rest of the collection, the harsh parts of “Overdrive” are nothing short of brutal, the gang chanted parts well placed for call and response in the live arena. At points it feels like something this heavy and this melodic shouldn’t live in the same space but Caliban are masters of the art and find ingenious ways of making it work. Programmed 90’s breakbeats give “Infection” the air of a remix as Duncan demonstrates some unclean vocals on the shriller side, the ear worm main riff one that will get into your brain and never leave.

If thirteen tracks seems daunting in a world of increasingly short attention spans, “Back From Hell” cuts just short of forty two minutes long and if you hadn’t already worked it out, falls into the cliché that is the all killer no filler category of the video shop where Patrick Bateman returns his rentals. The final four begins with “Glass Cage“, a cut which races out of hells gate like a Dungeon Whippet chasing the Postman’s leg before a well executed slow down for a melodic chorus. A punchy verse follows, the aggression levels triggering a warning light on the car dashboard but with a deep seated sense of melancholia that just will not leave. A downtempo Deathcore inspired final flourish is the icing on the metaphorical cake before “Solace In Suffer” takes us back the melancholic realm head first. Soaring cleans over ambience nods to bands like We Came As Romans, the power of the satisfyingly crunchy guitars that follow elevating the track to a tasteful, head-bang-able final note. Harsh whispers ignite the blue touch paper of “Till Death Do Us Part“, the darkness swirling like black clouds overhead. Punchy Metallic Hardcore riffs cut like a hot knife through butter, the cathartic vent of vocals balanced on a knife edge. Just when you thought it might be becoming a thing of the past, a classic “Bleigh!” moment is perfectly placed to drive a steak through the heart of any one who questioned if Caliban still had what it takes. As if the confirm that “Echoes” concludes the album in style with a heavy end Metalcore anthem that is one of the sharpest tools in the box. The bombastic breakdown section at the end is worth the admittance fee alone and in all honesty Metalcore in 2025 probably doesn’t get much better than this [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Resurgence
2. Guilt Trip (ft. Lukas Nicolai of Mental Cruelty)
3. I Was A Happy Kid Once
4. Back From Hell (ft. Jonny McBee of The Browning)
5. Insomnia
6. Dear Suffering (ft. Joe “Bad” Badolato of 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

“Back From Hell” by Caliban is out 25th April 2025 via Century Media