Calliban: I Am Nemesis

This is a very powerful album, one that's been growing on me more and more with each listen. I like the way Caliban draws on hardcore punk elements to create their overall sound. Caliban is usually considered a metalcore band, but they are doing well to explore the more extreme components of heavy metal on this release. Check out the way several of the tracks on this album move forward with pit-worthy aggression. This is particularly true of the opening track, "We are the Many," a song that listeners will not soon forget for its drive and its lyrics.

I was surprised at the way several of the songs turn melodic, even slightly poppy, at times. Listen, for example, to "Memorial," to see how the song plays to the edges of metalcore and then turn to more familiar, easier to follow, choruses. This is also true of "Davy Jones," the track I liked the most. I didn't think that this range of extremes would work well, but I find that Caliban pulls it off well enough to warrant a listen.

I thought that I Am Nemesis dragged a little in the middle, mostly because the sound doesn't vary too much from track to track once the basic sound is established. Things pick up in the last third of the album with tracks like "Broadcast to Damnation" and "Modern Warfare." Lyrically, Caliban is tackling the problems of the modern world, including the increasingly confusing notions of reality in the internet age. This is a relevant and powerful release.

Track Listing:
1. We Are the Many
2. The Bogeyman
3. Memorial
4. No Tomorrow
5. Edge of Black
6. Davy Jones
7. Deadly Dream
8. Open Letter
9. Dein R3ich
10. Broadcast to Damnation
11. This Oath
12. Modern Warfare

Added: March 23rd 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1698
Language: english

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