REVIEW: Caliban - Back From Hell

With Back From Hell, Caliban are reborn. After more than two decades at the forefront of European metalcore, the German heavyweights have returned swinging with an album that doesn't so much reassert their legacy as redefine it. Musically tighter, more streamlined, yet as emotionally raw and pummelling as ever, this is Caliban at their most condensed and brutal.

The album doesn't waste time knocking on the door, it barrels straight through it with no apologies. 'Resurgence' simmers like a storm on the horizon, the perfect introduction to an album of pure metalcore, before erupting into the non-stop fury of 'Guilt Trip', featuring Mental Cruelty's Lukas Nicolai, adding extra venom to the track. It's clear that Caliban are operating with laser-like precision and newfound focus. The riffs cut deeper, the drums hit harder, and every shift in intensity seems deliberate. There's a renewed accuracy to the songwriting that we haven’t seen before. Each track hits like a calculated explosion; feral in impact, but engineered with precision.

A noticeable part of that renewed clarity comes from the addition of Iain Duncan on bass and clean vocals, who slots into the lineup so naturally it's hard to believe this is his first album with the band. His presence is immediately felt, not just in the low-end and rhythm, but in the emotional heft he brings to the choruses. 'I Was A Happy Kid Once' is a particular standout, not just for its emotional resonance, but for the way Duncan's melodic vocals are so seamlessly integrated into the chaos. His voice doesn't just soar, it aches, carving out space in the track's dense, punishing landscape. It's a perfect display of Caliban's dualism: haunting vulnerability colliding with devastating heaviness.

What's remarkable is the fact that the band are capable of moving forward and showing intense progression without abandoning that which made them so excellent. The riffs still drop like slabs of concrete, the breakdowns still leave craters in their wake, and there's no shortage of fury in Andreas Dörner's vocals, but there's so much more depth this time around. Dörner's vocal effort is nothing short of transcendent, the work he’s put into elevating his skill is visible, and the result is a rawness that cuts straight through. His delivery is the emotional anchor of the record, and the rest of the band falls in behind him like a well-oiled machine.

Songs such as 'Back From Hell' (with Jonny McBee of The Browning) and 'Dear Suffering' (with Joe Badolato of Fit For An Autopsy) increase the pace without descending into chaos, highlighting a band who are well aware of when to let go and when to rein it in. The band tread the path between brutality and restraint with comfort. 'Overdrive' bursts in like a runaway freight train; urgent, relentless, and built to get a pit going within seconds. Its groove is infectious, locking into a rhythm that all but dares you to stay still.

Görtz and Schmidt play some of their most pinpoint accurate and inventive guitar work to date throughout the album, balancing razor-sharp riffing and eerie, melodic undertones that lend the bedlam real depth. Whether it's the vertiginous layering of 'Glass Cage', the nerve-jangling dissonance of 'Insomnia', or the battering hooks of 'Solace In Suffer', the chemistry between them is undeniable. No less vital is the drumming of Patrick Grün, precise, pounding, never overplaying. Every fill and blast beat is like it's been waiting for its moment and explodes like a bomb.

'Till Death Do Us Part’ hits with emotional venom, a slower burn that festers under tension before ultimately erupting. Closer ‘Echoes’ draws it all together: a perfect finale that melds melody and aggression in equal measure, and one of the finest examples of Caliban's new-found balance.

What distinguishes Back From Hell is not just how heavy it is, but how realistic it sounds. These are not just songs built for pit destruction, they're built from scars, loss, trauma, and resilience. There's history on this record. There's growth. There's survival.

Caliban haven’t just made a great record. They've made a statement: evolution doesn't need to equal erasure. That you can be heavier, sharper, and more ambitious without sacrificing who you are. Back From Hell is a new high point in an already storied career.

Score: 8/10

Back From Hell will be released on April 25th 2025 via Century Media Records.

Words: Vee Richardson

Photos: Caliban