There is a tendency that sooner or later every musician issues an album or a song called either “Awake” or “Awaken” or “Awakening”. Caliban make no exception. The hazard with this kind of editions is whether they would be kind of a real awakening or a paradox step back. In this case, “The Awakening” - Caliban’s latest album - we’re talking about something new and I wouldn’t call it a step back. Diehard fans would probably point out as a weakness the quantity of clear, melodic vocals, but I don’t see them as a negative thing. Development is included in a musician’s engagement and that’s exactly what the guys of the German quintet do - they evolve. Apart from experimenting with different vocal combinations, those sound on a background of a fine piece of music. “The Awakening” gives us the image of a brand new band. The sound moderated, those primary outbursts that were crucial to their music are no longer there. The impulse, of course, is what continues leading them and, doubtlessly, they are still true to their own feel about the music, but they’re giving it with restraint now. A clear example of the new sound of the album is the title track. It has this feeling like an underflow that drags you in. Two third of the song are a slow instrumental, though bursting with energy and like trying to break its cradle. The rest of the cuts carry the typical features of the band. Songs that stand out a bit are “I Will Never Let You Down” and “My Time Has Come” where guitarist Denis Schmidt relaxes his voice which soars above the melody. “I Believe…” is also different - not only because Denis and vocalist Andy Dörner sing along together, with Andy’s parts overlapping with Denis’ melodic sections, giving us the feeling of a rivalry, a verbal duel that embodies the emotion of the song. On the other hand, “Let Go”, “Nowhere to Run, No Place to Hide” and “Another Cold Day” bring us back to the good ol’ Caliban with blasting bass and drums and Andy’s uncompromising roars. You can feel the German roots of Caliban in the firmness of the music. With these few melodic pieces they show us a softer side, but remain unyielding in the rest of the lyrics. “The Awakening” is lacking the raw sound and rending vocals from “A Small Boy and a Grey Heaven” (1999), but the skill shown in “Shadow Hearts” (2003) is at hand, mastered yet a little chastened. This could be a new era and a new face of Caliban... or it could be just a weak moment? Only time will tell.