With North American trends usually dictating what bands in other countries aspire to sound like, it was only a matter of time before an already respected foreign outfit made the plunge and tried their hand. Unfortunately the band who have stepped up to do so are Germany's Caliban, a group who were already well on their way to putting their own stamp on the metalcore genre. Thus, instead of the expected development and refinement of the bands sound, we are treated to what more often than not amounts to a Swedish thrash band covering Killswitch Engage.

While the bands sinister take on speedy riffing and gripping vocals still make their presence felt, the songs structuring now leans heavily in the favor of their melodic aspects. Sappy clean sung choruses are given more time than necessary in the spotlight. Repetition soon rears its ugly head and an overall uninspired feeling begins to take its toll. Rare is the savagery the band squeeze in enough to keep the listener sated. Sure there are some rather menacing elements, but when they all eventually funnel off into the same cliche metalcore formula that's been done better by countless other bands, it becomes more of a hindrance than anything else.

"The Opposite From Within" is an album that will likely drive a spike down the middle of the bands fan base. On its own merits it's an alright listen, but given the fact that it's a Caliban release the standards and expectations are much higher. To abandon the considerable strengths of their past works just to fit into an already diluted American scene is an entirely unwise decision and one that pretty much spells doom for this release. Ultimately there is little that is 'opposite' present on this album. In fact, it should have been named 'The Familiarity From Within', because anyone who's lived through the past two years of metalcore has heard it all before.