Kaliban
There are two artists using this name:
1) KALIBAN
CURRENT NAME Kaliban
FORMER NAMES -
ORIGIN Finland
STATUS Active
FORMED IN -1994
LABEL Low Frequency Records
GENRE Death metal
STYLE Melodic
Current members
Henri Peltola1994-Bass, guitars, vocals
Toni Kettunen1994-Guitars
Mikko2002-Guitars
Mertsi Helppi1994-Drums
Former members
Olli Simola1995-2002Bass, vocals
In the autumn of -94, Kaliban was concieved by Toni Kettunen, Henri Peltola and Mertsi Helppi who realized they were sharing an equal passion to making a lot of aggressive noise. As for most teenage headbangers at the time, it all started with a brutal interpertation of Enter Sandman. It didn’t take long, however, for the eager trio to notice they had capacity and chemistry for more serious things. Active practise and Toni’s and Henri’s awakening songwriting skills led eventually to a demo titled ”Celestial Sounds”, released July -95. The style was shamelessly rough Death Metal, something all members believed would be their thing to the grave – the band’s identity was, however, yet to be shaped greatly.
While high school started next fall for Toni and Henri, there was no more a privilege for intense, daily rehearsing. Songwriting became thus increasingly individual and structured, and the music started developing towards more of a melodic direction. Even the first acoustic Kaliban song appeared surprisingly soon! Some time later bassist Olli Simola joined the ranks, which both completed a long-term line-up and enabled the band to start holding gigs. Yet Kaliban became active with concerts only a year later and instead concentrated now on their second demo, ”From the Darkest Season”. This tape, released in August -96, featured more advanced material and some first glimspes of Kaliban’s own sound. The principle melodic Death was spiced with elements of Doom and Black Metal – this time rather due to experimentation than search of identity.
After a quiet winter – in particular what comes to feedback from labels – Kaliban was ready to start working on a new demo. With improved material and cooperation, the band was now on the verge of becoming mature. The ever less Deathmetallic sound gained more atmosphere from keyboards and female vocals. The summer of –97 bore fruit in a demo called ”Divine Landscapes”, which was a commercial success in the underground terms. Most importantly, it opened the way to many stages – Kaliban was no more locked in its tiny rehearsal shed in the woods of Lammi!
Still no sufficient label interest occured, and a next move had to be made, as the four core members took music all the more seriously. The answer was: a self-financed full-length album recorded in Astia-studio. Leaning back to the know-how and vision of producer Anssi Kippo, the band gained faith in managing the expensive sessions either by finding a record deal afterwards or by releasing the album self. Though with some obstacles on the way, the first option turned out possible through an interst from Mastervox Records and eventually a licence contract from Low Frequency Records. ”The Tempest of Thoughts” presents.
2) Kaliban. No pimp cup. No gold teeth. No running suit dipped in Gucci. Kaliban is strictly business. L.A.'s resident battle rap title-holder is no stranger to the commercialized front lines of today's rap scene—and he's ready to change it. The question is, is today's rap scene ready to take on Kaliban? With all the cookie-cutter, recycled, studio rappers in the industry there needs to be a samurai that paints a clear portrait between a true and original Hip-Hop Great and a label-made clone. That samurai has arrived.
Kaliban grew up in a part of South Central Los Angeles he refers to as "the Danger Zone", dubbed that due to alarming murder rates and brutal turf wars. In the midst of that urban battleground he honed his take-no-prisoner spit fire style at local underground spots like Project Blowed, Elements, Fais Do-Do, and Galaxy. Places like these have a strict hold-your-own policy and chances were Kaliban showed and proved on a solo mission. Never the type to roll 10 deep, he was notorious for silently sliding into a cipher and murdering ten emcees at a time all without ever taking off his hoodie. Like a true samurai, he would do his killing, humbly collect his props, and disappear into the night as swiftly as he came. Some may say this sounds like a movie but to those struggling emcees in L.A.'s fight for supremacy, this is their living, breathing, walking nightmare. Not only does Kaliban have undoubted street credibility, his rhymes are packed with the smarts of Einstein and the street hustle of a young Willie D. He has a strong understanding of the current rap game and is able to disguise himself as a wolf in sheep's clothing; appealing to audiences, murderous to label-made clones.
As a true samurai would, Kaliban is always working to improve his art and has teamed up with several other artists and producers in his quest for Hip-Hop supremacy. In the early 2000's, Kaliban, going by his alias 50 Cal, teamed with producer DJ Obi to release his first solo album, Trigga-Nometry in 2003. It's heavy, sampled sounds combined with Kal's lethal lyrical prowess made it a widespread underground success. Always hungry for more, while still working on solo projects, Kaliban became member of rap groups, Cobra LA (CLA) and later the Filthy Rich Criminals (FRC)—working with industry names such as Father MC, B-Real, and DJ Warrior.
With his rhyme game locked down, Kaliban ventured off into more mainstream gambles where the purses were bigger. He took home a trophy from Nike's Battleground competition where he destroyed emcees from all over the country. With fangs dripping with industry blood, he became hungry for more high profile marks. It was time to hit the movies. Kaliban landed his song, "Sewaside", on the Lions Gate motion picture release titled "Drive Thru" released in 2007. Kaliban was not done yet. He then starred in "Battle For New York", an independent movie that showed the difference between a "rapper" and an emcee. In true form, Kaliban was cast as the ultimate emcee to square off against sixteen opponents. Not a far stretch from his day to day routine. Kaliban did gain a strong business sense from the making of this movie and he applied that knowledge to his future undertakings.
Currently, Kaliban is back to focusing on his solo career with his latest release “Point Blank Range”, under his own indie label, Lock and Stock Records—this time aiming at the majors with fresh new sounds and production, while keeping true to his art of being a bona-fide, battle-bred emcee. A direct product of Hip-Hop, Kaliban has songs that appeal to every type of Hip-Hop listener because of his undeniable gift to rhyme, and flawless delivery. Kaliban is truly the type of emcee we rarely see nowadays—the real deal.
CLONES BEWARE: Brace your pimp cups and guard your grills, the terror alert is rising and Kaliban is awake.
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