Antigone (2004) is Heaven Shall Burn's latest album which I really liked. After receiving this promo CD, the first thing I noticed except of course for the fact that it is a split CD, is that it's a follow up. Just like the bio wrote, the prequel The Split Program was released in 2000 through LifeForce Records.
Both bands are from Germany and they are two of the most successful bands in Metalcore. Nowadays they continue their carrier in different labels, Century Media for Heaven Shall Burn and Roadrunner Records for Caliban. It seems that there was an obligation on their previous contracts and that gave birth to The Split Program II. Among the eleven tracks of the album, the first six are from the first band and the rest from the later, so one can tell that the bands were treated evenly!
Heaven Shall Burn has contributed six songs to this CD from which, two are new, one is instrumental, one is re-recorded and two are covers. The two new songs are a natural continuation of Antigone; fast, aggressive, though a bit of a more melodic approach for Metalcore songs. The instrumental track has a nice piano part and the next one is the re-recording. The covers that the band selected state their roots and are: Downfall Of Christ of Merauder which is a great cover, that sounds like an original Heaven Shall Burn song and Destroy Fascism of Endstand.
Caliban has contributed one new song, The Revenge, and if you liked The Opposite From Within (2004) album, you will like this one too. It is modern, fast and aggressive, with an emotional touch. As far as the re-recorded tracks are concerned, One Day and One More Lie are taken from their EP in 1998. Arena Of Concealment first appeared on their full length album A Small Boy And A Grey Heaven in 1999 and A Summer Dream on The Split Program.
All in all, The Split Program II is a must buy for the metalcore fans. If you bought the albums of both bands and you really enjoy their music then the next step is to buy this split CD. If else, you might as well buy a full length album of one of the bands first, except if you'd just like to have a small taste of both groups in one disc.