TRIBULATION

Stylistically "Where The Gloom Becomes Sound" pretty much continues where "Down Below (2018)" left of. Dark, melancholic, and atmospheric gothic tinged heavy metal, featuring blackened snarling vocals. The vocals aren´t extreme in nature, but they are raw and snarling. Tribulation come from a past playing both aggressive death/thrash metal and progressive death metal, so it was quite a change of pace when they released the 2015 goth metal influenced album "The Children of the Night". "Where The Gloom Becomes Sound" is now the third album from Tribulation in a similar style, so it must probably be concluded that they´ve now settled and feel completely comfortable with the sound they play.

...and play it well they do. There hasn´t been much development since "Down Below (2018)", but Tribulation deliver their brand of gothic tinged heavy metal with both great passion and conviction. It´s obvious these guys are skilled musicians and that they also know how to write an effectful and memorable song. If I have to mention an act which in many ways have a similar approach it would be fellow countrymen Tiamat, although Tribulation are slightly darker and more heavy. One of the great assets of the music are the many well played lead parts and harmonies, which provide the album with a suiting dark and melancholic atmosphere. Most of the album goes by at mid-pace but some tracks are slower and touches doom metal territory.

"Where The Gloom Becomes Sound" features a dark and gloomy sounding production job, which is professional and suits the album well, but sometimes becomes just a little too dense and murky. Some of the riffs could have stood a little sharper in the soundscape with a slightly more clear sounding guitar tone. Other than that and maybe the fact that the vocals are slightly too one-dimensional in nature, "Where The Gloom Becomes Sound" is a high quality release through and through. Fans of the two direct predecessors should find this one a great listen to. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

...and maybe a bit surprisingly they´ve pretty much stuck to that style on "Down Below". On the other hand a band have to settle at some point, when they feel they´ve found a musical identity, and that´s probably what has happened with Tribulation on "Down Below".

It´s obvious too why they have opted to release a relatively similar sounding album to "The Children of the Night (2015)", because that release gave them something of an underground breakthrough and once you´ve tasted success, it´s not something you give up easily. Tribulation are also very good at writing music in this style and perform their music with great skill and conviction too, so those who enjoyed "The Children of the Night (2015)", will pretty surely find appeal in "Down Below" too.

"Down Below" features a dark and organic toned sound production which suits the material well. Regarding the 9 tracks on the 46:40 minutes long album most are pretty regular vers/chorus structured compositions, typically with a dark and heavy vers and a slighly more melodic/atmospheric and uplifting/epic chorus (not light though). It´s when the band break free of their formula and do something a bit different (like the closing minutes of "Here Be Dragons"), that they are most interesting though, and upon conclusion "Down Below" does have a tendency to sound a little too safe and predictable. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

However judging by the sound of "The Formulas of Death" the longer recording break probably had little to do with lineup changes and more to do with time spend with the development of the band´s sound. Tribulation were founded under the Hazard monicker in 2001 but changed their name to Tribulation in 2004. They initially played a fast-paced and brutal death/thrash metal style, which is also heard on the "Putrid Rebirth" EP from 2009. They tweaked their sound towards a more old school type of death metal on their debut full-length studio album "The Horror (2009)" (still with nods towards more aggressive death/thrash though), but has changed their sound again on "The Formulas of Death". This time around the listener is treated to a progresive and psychadelic tinged death metal that is quite unusual sounding.

The material on the 11 track, 75:48 minutes long album is generally pretty adventurous with both long structures and innovative ideas. There´s a retro 70s feel to some of the proceedings, but it´s only an element of the band´s sound. The organic sounding production further enhances that feeling. This is still old school death metal in many ways though, and at times also rather brutal, but seldom for long before a laid back psychadelic section kicks in, or a tempo change or break leads to something else. The tracks are still pretty consistent though, and nothing feels completely out of place or forced. It´s music that takes a bit of getting used to though, and to my ears the growling vocals (which are actually higher pitced and aggressive rather than deep and growling) are slightly monotone and could easily have prospered from more variation (and a higher place in the mix).

Upon conclusion "The Formulas of Death" is a very bold move by Tribulation, which could have sunk their career by alienating their fans, but as far as I understand it´s an album which has received almost universal praise. And it´s obvious why. The songwriting is simply on a higher level than on most contemporary releases on the scene and paired with strong musicianship, and a very well sounding production, "The Formulas of Death" ultimately comes off as a very high quality release. There are a few issues like the ones mentioned above and the too long playing time is also a slight issue, but other than that it´s a great release for fans of innovative/progressive old school death metal with a psychadelic twist and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Instead of the ultra fast-paced and technically well played death/thrash style of the "Putric Rebirth" EP from 2006, which was the band´s last release before "The Horror", Tribulation now leans more towards an old school Swedish type of death metal, but if you listen a bit more closely it´s soon revealed that "The Horror" isn´t your everyday retro death metal album. There are still strong ties to thrash metal, and the music is also generally played with great technical skill. Especially the latter isn´t always true on old school sounding death metal releases. Or maybe more correctly, it´s often not the focus.

The material is delivered with fierce aggression and often in an energetic pace, with snarling growling vocals, rhythmically varied beats and riffs, and blistering guitar solos. This is one of those performances where you can feel they really mean it. The sound production is suitingly raw, yet detailed and clear enough for all instruments and vocals to stand out. "The Horror" is a school example of how to make an album with old school credibility, yet with a different enough twist to it to make it stand out on the scene. The very convincing delivery and the well sounding production are also great assets as mentioned above, so a 4 star (80%) rating isn´t all wrong.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Tribulation is probably best known for playing old school Swedish death metal with progressive leanings (and later a darker and more gothic tinged style), but on "Putrid Rebirth" they play a technical, aggressive, and ultra-fast death/thrash metal style, which sounds a bit like 1986 Dark Angel on steroids. A reference to their Danish neighbours in Invocator (early) is probably even more valid. This is very raw and aggressive but also played with great skill and conviction. The snarling and vitriol filled growling vocals are very effective and the feature on the EP, which is closest related to death metal. The instrumental part of the music, including the screaming chromatic guitar solos, is brutal and raw thrash metal through and through. The lyrics are your typical death, zombie, and occult themed lyrics.

In addition to the fierce musical performance, and some raw and effective songwriting, the 4 track, 17:53 minutes long EP features a powerful and raw sounding production. I had to look twice when I saw that "Putrid Rebirth" was released in 2006, because the sound is so authentic late 80s/early 90s, that I was convinced I was listening to a lost death/thrash gem from that time. So it´s safe to say the music isn´t very original sounding, but it´s so intense and and well performed that it doesn´t matter much if you appreciate the style. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

The EP opens with the regular studio version of "Melancholia" from "The Children of the Night (2015)". It´s a great melodic and hard rocking doom/death metal track, featuring irresistible guitar lead themes, hard rocking rhythms, a dark occult atmosphere, and blackened semi-growling vocals. The next track is a remix version of "Melancholia" subtitled "Steingrim remix", which to my ears is completely redundant, as it ultimately doesn´t sound that different from the original. Track 3 is another remix version of "Melancholia" subtitled "Author & Punisher remix" and this one actually has some merit, as it´s an ambient atmospheric version of "Melancholia", which sounds quite different from the original.

"Pay the Man" follows and it´s a The Offspring cover. I expected a melodic punk rock song, but Tribulation put their own spin on the track, which ends up sounding like a psychadelic jamming doom/death track. I nice little surprise, but nothing too exhilarating. It´s not exclusive to this EP either, as it was already featured as the B-side to the "Waiting for the Death Blow" single from late 2015. Then follow demo versions of "Holy Libations", "The Motherhood of God", and "Winds", which are all tracks featured in their studio versions on "The Children of the Night (2015)". The demo tracks feature professional recording quality, and they are well performed too, but to my ears a bit redundant if you already own "The Children of the Night (2015)".

So the quality and relevance of the material featured on "Melancholia" is a bit up an down. It´s certainly not an EP you can´t live without, and upon conclusion it´s what I´d characterize as a fan item. More casual listeners are adviced to leave this one alone and go purchase "The Children of the Night (2015)" instead. A 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted though.

...but what we have here is yet another change in musical style. The band still uses death metal elements (most obvious in the use of growling vocals), but I´d probably call this progressive extreme metal over death metal. The use of melody is also very prominent. The many melodic and very well played guitar solos deserve a mention, but there is also use of piano/organ/vintage keyboards, vibraphone, and xylophone in the music, which provides it with a nice organic touch. I´m sometimes reminded of "Wildhoney (1994)"-era Tiamat, although Tribulation is generally much harder rocking than their fellow countrymen, but an act like Hail Spirit Noir could also be used as a reference (I actually hear a bit Amorphis too).

I feel like Tribulation is closer to finding a unique sound on this album than on any of their previous releases (although "The Formulas of Death (2013)" is also a pretty original sounding release), or at least to finding a sound which they feel comfortable playing. It shows in the conviction of the delivery and the quality of the compositions. In many ways "The Children of the Night" is a less complex album than it´s predecessor, but somehow it still feels more progressive. The fact that the instrumental part of the music doesn´t feature many death metal elements anymore, also makes "The Children of the Night" a very different sounding album to it´s predecessor.

One of the things I had a slight issue with on "The Formulas of Death (2013)", was the fact that the growling vocals weren´t placed high enough in the mix, which occasionally provided them with a monotone sound. They simply didn´t stand out as anything special, but that has been changed on "The Children of the Night", which features fully intelligible growling vocals placed high in the mix. To my ears it makes a world of difference and the impact of listening to the vocals is huge compared with what the vocals gave to the music on the predecessor. The music is generally more catchy too, although the album still requires some spins before all tracks settle.

"The Children of the Night" features a well sounding production. It´s raw and organic, but also highly detailed, which makes it easy to hear all instruments and vocals in the mix. So "The Children of the Night" is through and through a high quality release and it´s yet another testimony to how innovative and adventure seeking Tribulation is. With their stylistic history I won´t be surprised if their next album sounds vastly different from this one, but until then "The Children of the Night" is highly recommedable to fans of progressive extreme metal with great melodic flair, yet still featuring a credible amount of darkness for those who crave that. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.