Caliban Vs. Heaven Shall Burn – The Split Program II
Lifeforce Records – LFR 055-2 – July 26th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Looks like we’ve got a full-fledged, metalcore battle on our hands with
Caliban Vs. Heaven Shall Burn on
The Split Program II. The first incarnation –
The Split Program – was released back in 2001 before either band signed with Century Media Records (or a subsidiary). As you can imagine, this release doesn’t accomplish much for one group or the other and, furthermore, I can’t picture anyone but the most diehard of metalcore freaks even stepping close to this.
For the record, I preferred
Heaven Shall Burn’s Antigone over
Caliban’s The Opposite from Within, so it follows that I like the former over the latter in this case. Four of the eleven tracks are original compositions by
HSB, plus two covers in “Downfall of Christ” (
Merauder) and “Destroy Facism” (
Endstand). Conversely,
Caliban occupy the later spots (from seven to eleven) with original material. Now,
Heaven Shall Burn love to riddle their production with fuzziness, their vocal delivery with aggressiveness, and their music with
In Flames-like melody, riffing, and sensibility. Still, the Germans teeter between metalcore and melodic death on numerous occasions. Different are
Caliban, though, as they unmistakably peddle the more ill-received subgenre. Their shtick relies on traditional, mc grooving a la
As I Lay Dying, with sprinkles of mediocre clean vocals thrown in for a quick respite from the growls. Essentially, both German-bred troupes are fairly competent, but it’s difficult – if not impossible – to refrain from declaring a winner.
At the end of the day, I’d choose
Heaven Shall Burn’s Antigone over any of
Caliban’s output, including
The Split Program II. There are more tantalizing records on the shelves, so exchange your money for one of those. At least, that’s what I’d do.
7/10
Official Caliban Website
Official Heaven Shall Burn Website
Official Lifeforce Records Website
