Caliban are a German

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...

band from

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...

. To date, they have released thirteen

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

s and two EPs, along with two

split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from " va ...

s with Heaven Shall Burn.

History

Caliban was formed in

, Germany in 1997 as ''Never Again''. In the beginning, the band consisted of vocalists Andreas Dörner and Marc Ulfig, guitarists Björn Kaiser and Marc Görtz, bassist Engin Güres and drummer Kai Kogelheide.Never Again
/ref> With this lineup, a self-titled demo was recorded. After six months of playing together and several member changes – Ulfig, Kaiser and Kogelheide left, the latter were replaced by Claus Wilgenbusch and Robert Krämer – the band recorded two songs for a demo, which was never released. The songs were sent to several record labels, and

Lifeforce Records Lifeforce Records is a German heavy metal independent record label that specializes in metalcore and death metal. Their roster contains bands such as Confession, This or the Apocalypse, Omnium Gatherum and Last Leaf Down, and they have helped t ...

was the first to offer the band – by then called Caliban – a record deal. Caliban's first self-titled EP came out in the summer of 1998. To promote it, the band played many shows all over Europe and a few support shows for bands including

Morning Again Morning Again is an American metalcore band from Florida. They were known for their metallic sound as well as for their straight edge, vegan, anti-religious and anti-government ideals. The band was a "sister band" to Culture, often switching ...

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and

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. After their European tour in 1999, Caliban entered the studio to record their first full-length entitled ''

A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven Caliban are a German metalcore band from Essen. To date, they have released thirteen studio albums and two EPs, along with two split albums with Heaven Shall Burn. History Caliban was formed in Essen, Germany in 1997 as ''Never Again''. In th ...

''. The CD received favorable reviews in many big magazines and many smaller hardcore and

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

s. They also released the first part of a split-CD with Heaven Shall Burn, named ''

The Split Program ''The Split Program'' is a split album by German metalcore bands Caliban and Heaven Shall Burn, released on 18 August 2000. "Partisan" is performed by Caliban on the album, but is originally a Heaven Shall Burn composition, while "One More Lie ...

''. '' 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 Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup cons ...

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

Biohazard A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A bi ...

and Morbid Angel. The Japan trip was followed by a U.S. tour with Bloodjinn, which was interrupted by the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. In August 2002, Caliban recorded their third official release ''

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''. This record was more melodic and harmonic than its predecessors. In 2004 the band got a record deal with

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in ...

in Europe ( Abacus Recordings in the US) and started to record their fourth album, '' The Opposite from Within'', alongside producer Anders Fridén, who is known for fronting

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During the ...

. In July 2005, the band released the second part of their split-CD with their friends from Heaven Shall Burn, called ''The Split Program II''. The band released their fifth album called ''

The Undying Darkness ''The Undying Darkness'' is the fifth studio album by German metalcore band Caliban. Track listing Credits Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Personnel Caliban * Andy Dörner – voc ...

'' in February 2006 and toured with All Shall Perish,

Bleeding Through Bleeding Through is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in 1999. In 2004, ''Revolver'' magazine hailed Bleeding Through as one of eight bands ushering in the "Future of Metal" cover story, and '' Spin'' called Blee ...

and

I Killed the Prom Queen I Killed the Prom Queen were an Australian metalcore band from Adelaide, formed in 2000. They were prominent in the Australian live music scene and toured the US, Japan and parts of Europe several times. They issued three studio albums: '' When ...

for the "Darkness over Europe" tour. In 2007, Caliban recorded their album '' The Awakening'' with producer Benny Richter and it was released in Germany on 25 May. The album reached 36 in the German charts. In 2009, the band toured with German band Kreator on the "Chaos Over Europe Tour". They also signed a worldwide contract with

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Ol ...

. They released their new album, '' Say Hello to Tragedy'', on 25 August 2009. This album - just like '' The Awakening'' - reached 36th place on the German media charts. In October and November they toured Europe on the "Beastfest European Tour 2009" with Suicide Silence, German friend-band

Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...

and American acts Emmure and After the Burial. Caliban entered the studio in February and recorded a cover EP titled ''Coverfield'', released in May 2011. The album consists of 4 songs, although more songs were recorded and may be released later. In mid August, the band entered the studio to finish writing and recording a new full-length album to be released in early 2012. At the beginning of September the band posted a message on their official site, saying that the songwriting is complete and that 12 songs were made. The new album titled ''

I Am Nemesis ''I Am Nemesis'' is the eighth full-length album by the German metalcore band Caliban, which was released on 3 February 2012 on Century Media. Background Lyrically, ''I Am Nemesis'' is a continuation of the band's last record, ''Say Hello to ...

'' was released on 3 February. Stormbringer Magazin of Germany Caliban is writing and recording a new full-length album for January 2014. The band released '' Ghost Empire'' on 24 January 2014 via

. In February 2014, Caliban entered the German Media Control Charts at #7 for this album. In the beginning of 2015 they toured with

Bury Tomorrow Bury Tomorrow are a British metalcore band formed in 2006 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The band is composed of six members; lead vocalist Daniel Winter-Bates, bassist Davyd Winter-Bates, drummer Adam Jackson, lead guitarist Kristan Daws ...

, Dream On, Dreamer and

Any Given Day Any Given Day is a German metalcore band formed in 2012 in Gelsenkirchen. History The band was formed in 2012 by singer Dennis Diehl, guitarists Andy Posdziech and Dennis ter Schmitten, bassist Michael Golinski and drummer Raphael Altmann wh ...

. Caliban then released the album, ''Gravity'', in the spring of 2016, and via social media teased an upcoming project in 2017. On 6 April 2018, Caliban released their eleventh album, ''Elements''. Three years after their previous album, Caliban release a new album titled ''Zeitgeister'' on May 14, 2021. This release reunites some old tracks now sung and re-recorded in German language. Additionally, ''Zeitgeister'' includes one previously unreleased song, "nICHts". The next year on April 22, the band released their 13th full-length album, titled ''Dystopia''.

Band members

Caliban Rockharz 2019 27.jpg, Andreas Dörner Caliban Rockharz 2019 43.jpg, Marc Görtz Caliban Rockharz 2019 08.jpg, Denis Schmidt Caliban Rockharz 2019 20.jpg, Marco Schaller Caliban Rockharz 2019 44.jpg, Patrick Grün Current members * Andreas Dörner – lead vocals * Marc Görtz – lead guitar * Denis Schmidt – rhythm guitar, clean vocals * Patrick Grün – drums Former members * Marc Ulfig – vocals * Björn Kaiser – rhythm guitar * Kai Kogelheide – drums * Engin Güres – bass * Claus Wilgenbusch – rhythm guitar * Robert Krämer – drums * Thomas Sielemann – rhythm guitar * Andreas Nikolaou – rhythm guitar * Boris Pracht – bass * Marco Schaller – bass Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Split albums

Music videos

References

External links

*
Caliban
at MySpace
Caliban
at

Caliban
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caliban 1997 establishments in Germany Century Media Records artists German metalcore musical groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical quintets Roadrunner Records artists