CALIBAN
Bio:
“You gotta be fucking kiddin’ me!?” – is the simple, but striking first line of “We Are The Many”, the opening track of CALIBAN’s new opus “I Am Nemesis”. This question runs like a common thread throughout their new studio album which addresses the downsides of humanity: loss and fear, greed and avarice, lies and deceit, madness and loss of control.
CALIBAN continues to be one of the spearheads of German Modern Metal (alongside label-mates Heaven Shall Burn) and once again, have put their lyrical focus towards serious topics. The band has always devoted themselves to bringing attention to the wild, chaotic and uncontrollable things in our world. Where others flinch in exposing controversy, CALIBAN calls a spade a spade.
“The lyrical concept of the album is a continuation of our last record ‘Say Hello To Tragedy’,” says vocalist Andy Dörner. “It is socio-critical and points out things that go wrong in the world, at least in our eyes.” The new songs touch on numerous issues including how the public is being more easily influenced by the media (“Broadcast To Damnation”), how people are disrespected via the internet (“Modern Warfare”), how the example of oil is being used to exploit our planet (“Edge Of Black”) and the topics of fascism (“Dein R3.ich”) and loss (“Memorial”).
To say that this is CALIBAN’s most versatile record would be an understatement. In between growling metal storms, in a number of spots the tempo slows at the exact right moment allowing for a perfect amount of clean vocals to come through. Marcel Neumann from German deathcore destroyers We Butter The Bread With Butter contributed both keyboards („The Bogeyman“, „Dein R3.ich“) and guitars into the mix and Mitch Lucker of Suicide Silence, Marcus Bischoff of Heaven Shall Burn and As Blood Runds Black all contributed beastly guest vocals. The album as a whole delivers a constant balance between unrestrained aggression and catchy melodies.
Lead guitarist Marc Görtz describes their sonic approach to “I Am Nemesis”: “The album breaks new soil without forgetting our roots. There are new influences such as shimmering guitar melodies and technical grooves with Meshuggah-like heaviness. In some songs we added an additional few pounds to make them even heavier. We wanted to record a very diverse album that has several fast tracks but also some slow and brutal mosh songs.”
With their prime focus on song writing, CALIBAN spent ten months perfecting “I Am Nemisis” and the long, hard work has paid off. The album took twice as long in the making as previous albums and the German quintet is more than happy with the final result. “It was important to us to have an elaborate album without any fillers, at least in our eyes. Additionally the sound of the album is the best we’ve ever had by far: it is heavy and brutal without being chaotic,” summarizes Görtz. The guitarist himself co-produced the album with Benny Richter. “I Am Nemesis” was mixed by Klaus Scheuermann in the B.B. Serious Studio in Berlin and mastered by J. Oliver Wiebe in Hamburg’s Nullzweistudios.
Around the release of the album, the berserk German metallers will embark on a massive European tour, set to redefine all musical limitations.
The Special Edition of the album as well as a strictly limited box set will come with CALIBAN’s very own cover versions of songs that were influential to the band. They are the logical follow-up to their “Coverfield-EP” incl. covers of Mötley Crüe, Rammstein, Six Feet Under, Misfits, At The Gates, Pink Floyd, Anthrax as well as a remix for “Edge Of Black”.
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