Formed in 1997 but already revered in the European metal-core scene, Caliban display the keen sense of musical understanding that wouldn't necessarily be associated with heavy music. Employing melody to their fast paced metal, Caliban provide a diverse audience with an equally diverse type of music. Philippa McMahon chats backstage to Marc (guitars) before their support slot for Hatebreed and Crowbar.
R13: How are you today? You alright?
C: I'm alright, how about you?
R13: Fantastic, thanks!
R13: What did you get up to yesterday then?
C: Yesterday we had a day off, which was nice.
R13: Are you looking forward to making up for your disastrous performance at the Metal Hammer awards?
C: Yeah, but it was more the venue's fault, rather than our own. The power to the stage turned off. All our stuff was fine, but the amps didn't work. When we asked the manager "can you put the power back on?" he said "I don't know how!" It took them so long to figure it out that our set was over.
R13: Disappointing for you...
C: Yeah, especially because we came for just that show.
R13: What do you prefer doing- one off shows or tours?
C: It depends on how far away the country is. Usually we try and get tours but we don't mind travelling around Germany or going to London or Belgium for just one show.
R13: You've played with some big names... How does it feel to share a stage with bands you love?
C: Very nice! It's amazing to play with our heroes from when we were young. We used to listen to Pantera a lot so it was amazing to have played a show with them.
R13: So...what about your history? When did you begin to be Caliban and not just some local band?
C: Around '98...probably a little earlier- like school bands and stuff. We've had three permanent members for around three...maybe five years. No drastic lineup changes though! I think our lineup is settled now.
R13: How do you go about recording a song then?
C: Umm... I write the song on guitar and Andy will write the lyrics. We'll put them together at rehearsals. Our band works better that way because sometimes you can have too many ideas. If too many people want to bring something together it gets confusing.
R13: Have there been any incidents where another band member has had an idea and it's worked better than something you or Andy could have come up with?
C: It happens all the time as we work the songs out together.
R13: What do you try and achieve on stage?
C: We have no goal on stage other than putting on a good show. We just try and play as well as we can. We always do the wall of death. We get the fans to split up and then run at each other during one song. Some people think we're trying to copy other bands by doing that even though we were doing it at our shows earlier.
R13: So we can't expect any rock 'n' roll antics on stage then? No throwing instruments or band members into the crowd?
C: No, not often. Sometimes I'll put my guitar away and I'll jump into the crowd.
R13: What goes through your mind when you're doing that?
C: I dunno... nothing really. I'm just having fun I guess.
R13: ...and when you're not playing? What music do you chill out to?
C: On tour...I don't listen to much music on tour because I'm surrounded by music every day, all night... When I'm not playing the other bands we're touring with are... But in general I listen to a variety... Hardcore, Swedish metal...anything really. I love melodic as well as heavy stuff and that's shown in our music. In the last year we've found we've got a lot of younger fans.
R13: Is that from the coverage you've had on TV channels such as Scuzz? I know I've seen the video several times and I don't even have Sky TV!
C: Hehehe, yeah. A producer normally thinks up our videos. We send them the lyrics and the song and they send us back their ideas. As a band we pick the idea we like the most. I don't really think about that though, I'm more interested in what our songs sound like rather than what they look like. For our last video we didn't have any particular ideas for it. I'm not that interested in it really...
R13: You were included on the OST for Saw. What did you think of the film?
C: Oh, it was alright. I like horror films... and comedy... I don't like action films. I think the only soundtrack we've been used on is the Saw OST though.
R13: I can't stand Mission Impossible, I think it's a terrible film!
C: It's...not that great!
R13: What festivals are you going to be playing this year?
C: We're playing Donnington- The Download festival- we've already confirmed. We're also playing the big fests in Germany as well like Rock Am Ring.
R13: What bands are you likened to in reviews?
C: The name Killswitch Engage always pops up...
R13: Are you happy with that comparison?
C: I really like them, but we're not the same as them and people need to understand that. There are similarities, but there are also a lot of differences.