Caliban vs. Heaven Shall Burn

Caliban vs Heaven Shall Burn – The Split Program II is a unique album with tracks from two heavyweight German metalcore bands. Tracks one through six are Heaven Shall Burn songs, the remaining five are by Caliban. The Split Program, the original, featuring the same two bands was released in December of 2000. Both five piece bands will be touring Europe together in December of this year.

The music on this 37-minute album gets a 3.5 out of 5. Both bands have great riffs, energetic breakdowns, and well made songs. The last two Heaven Shall Burn tracks are covers of Merauder’s “Downfall of Christ,” and Endstand’s “Destroy Fascism.” They also have nice instrumental piece three songs in to mix things up.

While both of these bands are definitely at the top of their game neither does anything particularly unique for the genre. A little more creativity would nicely complement their skill. Also, there is an imbalance in the album: the Heaven Shall Burn half of The Split Program II is slightly more entertaining than the Caliban half. The difference is not great, but it is enough to make the listener slowly loose interest as the last tracks are playing.

For specific considerations, The Split Program II receives 1/2 out of 2. The concept of the album and its predecessor are great. However, many things could have been done better. Most noticeably there is a severe difference in the amount of new material brought by the bands. The Heaven Shall Burn songs are new recordings made for the album. Three of the five Caliban songs are re-recordings of tracks from their previous albums. If both bands had all new material the album would be a worthwhile buy (for those who like both of the artists). In this case however there are only a few new songs by each.

For fans of only one of the bands the album is not at all worth buying. Heaven Shall Burn fans will get four original tracks (two more if they want the covers), and Caliban fans only two. While the album concept is good, it would have been more creative and interesting if two bands less similar to each other were used. The Split Program II is essentially a mix album of European metalcore. Why not mix American and European metalcore together? Even more diverse metal styles could work. It would be harder to pull off, but the end result would be more entertaining.

Sound quality of this album gets 1 ½ out of 2. The drums occasionally sound a little quiet, otherwise tones and timbres are well suited for the style and are mixed well.

The physical attributes of The Split Program II receive a perfect 1 out of 1. Images of two battling sword-bearing warriors in samurai style dress are displayed throughout the limited slip case edition. The middle of the booklet marks the split between part I and part II. Lyrics are included as well as a picture of each band. There is also a larger version of the front cover image when one of the pages in the booklet is placed beside the empty CD case. All words are legible and there are the usual notes on where tracks were recorded, who the sponsors of the bands are, etc.

The Split Program II earns a final mark of 6.5 out of 10. The album will appeal to those who are fans of both Caliban and Heaven Shall Burn. The tracks are great, well produced, and have great sound quality. The album is not worth it however for people who are only fans of one of the bands. There are only a few new songs by each band on a disc that costs the same if not more, than a full-length album.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Unleash Enlightenment
02. No One Will Shed a Tear
03. Nyfædd Von
04. If This Is a Man
05. Downfall of Christ
06. Destroy Fascism
07. Revenge
08. Arena of Concealment
09. One Day
10. Summer Dream
11. One More Lie

Run Time: 37:41