Caliban

Caliban, a metalcore band, was formed in Germany in 1997 under the name Never Again. After 6 months of playing together, the band recorded their first two songs for a compilation, which was never released. The songs were sent to several record labels, and Lifeforce Records was the first to offer the band a record deal. The band's first self-titled MCD came out in the summer of 1998. To promote the CD, Caliban played many shows all over Europe and a few support shows for bands like Morning Again, Earth Crisis, and Cro-Mags. After their European tour, in 1999 Caliban entered the studio to record their first full-length CD, entitled A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven. The CD received favorable reviews in many big zines and many smaller hardcore and metal zines. The band was described as a mixture of Slayer, Poison the Well, and Hatebreed. Vent came out in April 2001. Vent was released by Imperium Records and by Howling-Bull Records in Japan. Shortly after the release, Caliban was offered the opportunity to tour Japan to play the Beast-Feast 2001 in the Yokohama Arena, sharing stage with bands including Slayer, Pantera, Machine Head, Biohazard, and Morbid Angel. The Japan trip was followed by a US tour with Bloodjinn, which was interrupted by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In August 2002 Caliban recorded their third official release Shadow Hearts. This record was more melodic and harmonic than its predecessors. In 2004 the band got a record deal with Roadrunner Records and started to record their fourth album, The Opposite From Within, alongside famous producer Andy Sneap. In July 2005 the band again made a record with their friends from Heaven Shall Burn called The Split Program II. In February 2006 the band released the album The Undying Darkness. It was produced by Anders Friden, the vocalist of In Flames. In May 2007 the band released The Awakening. They are using 7 string guitars and less clean vocals in their new material. There are 12 songs on this album. They are currently touring Europe with Soilwork, Sonic Syndicate, and Dark Tranquillity, on the Vans Eastpak Antidote Tour.