Year: 2021
Total Time: 48:22
Label: Century Media

Let me start by saying that I don’t think there are many bands out there that play like TRIBULATION, the quartet from Arvika, Sweden. I can only think of CLOAK, but that’s because the Americans seem to be mostly influenced by the Swedes.

So, what are TRIBULATION playing? After two exquisite Death Metal albums at the beginning of their career, they completely revamp their style and follow a gothic direction combining Black and Heavy Metal with various dark manifestations of Rock. The result was the perfect soundtrack for Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic tales as well as old black and white horror films. If we were to try to describe the sound of the Swedes, I would say that it is the magical spot where the melodic Black Metal of DISSECTION meets the dark Heavy Metal of IN SOLITUDE, the eerie melodies of THE CURE, and a plethora of 70 influences from Proto Metal to Prog Rock! All this unique musical amalgam was exemplary in their third album, 2015’s “Children of the Night”.

Continuing in the same pattern, the band releases “Down Below”, adopting a more Gothic Rock form with Johansson’s grunt vocals being their only link to extreme Metal. The uniqueness of the band is complemented by the guitar duo of Zaars and Hulten, whose chemistry is truly phenomenal. Addictive riffs alternate magnificently with otherworldly melodies, giving a very special character to the dramatic music of TRIBULATION. There was a big difference with its predecessor though, and that was in a way the more simplified compositions. For the first time, for example, there were songs under 4 minutes. I don’t know what role Oscar Leander’s arrival behind the drums played in this, but either way his play was noticeably inferior to Jakob Ljungberg who left the band to focus on his personal project, SECOND SUN.

That’s all good, but what about the new album? Where does “Where The Gloom Becomes Sound” go? What surprises does it have in store for us? The answer is unfortunately none! TRIBULATION in their fifth release present a very sluggish face, apparently trying to capture the gloomy melancholy stated by the title of their new work – inspired by SOPOR AETERNUS’ classic hymn “Hades Pluton”. They do achieve however the atmosphere they seek, which is uniquely consistent with the themes they deal with lyrically: Ancient deities, ghosts, biblical creatures and lost souls.

Musically, though, it’s where I expected more. The tempos are noticeably slower and the compositions even more simplistic. Yes, they give space to the impressive guitars of Hulten and Zaars, who easily steal the show with their melodies as if THIN LIZZY were covering the theme of The Exorcist. But nothing else. You can sense it from the beginning of the album, with the opener “In Remembrance”. After a promising intro with some strings, it follows a sluggishly slow build-up that even when the catchy chorus pops up, you feel that they have already missed their opportunity to make an exciting start. Then there are the two of the band’s three singles, “Hour Of The Wolf” and “Leviathans”, which you can’t help but notice are two fairly similar compositions built around catchy melodies on clean guitars, reminiscent of MOONSPELL’s 90s Gothic Metal anthem “Opium.” This song pattern will be repeated a little further down the album with “Elementals”, dangerously following the same style. The beautiful instrumental “Lethe” adds a melancholic note with its piano bringing to mind the song “Så Svårt Att Lämna Dig” of the 70s heroes of Swedish Hard Rock, NOVEMBER.

Thankfully, the next track “The Daughter Of The Djinn” comes to save the day. TRIBULATION borrows one of Adrian Smith’s riffs, draws inspiration from classic Metal, picks up the pace and gives us a composition with edge and nerve. The band’s third single, “Funeral Pyre”, moves on the same direction, thus perhaps showing the path that the Swedes should follow on their next album, as they manage to perfectly combine the traditional metallic sound with their dark atmosphere. Having recently replaced Hulten on guitar with Joseph Tholl (VOJD, ex-ENFORCER, ex-BLACK TRIP) I don’t find it very unlikely.

The rest of the tracks that complement the album move at slow to mid-tempo speeds, without offering any special thrills or any memorable choruses, apart from the high-quality guitar work I mentioned above. The captivating cover art with the statue of Fernand Khnopff, scores some extra points, subconsciously reminding us of the iconic cover of the best Gothic Metal album of the 90s (don’t ask me which album is this)!

All in all, this is NOT a bad record. As I described at the beginning of my review, there aren’t many bands like the Swedes out there. The work on the guitars is simply beautiful and those who like melodic riffs, leads and solos from the dark side will surely be satisfied. Having read that the great Tom Dalgety (GHOST, RAMMSTEIN) worked on the production and mixing of the album, the truth is that I expected much more from this release. I’m SURE that TRIBULATION can give us something truly exceptional. Let’s hope the new blood now in their ranks will give them that kick they need to get out of the gloomy swamp they found themselves in.

PS. For those interested in hearing what the Swedes might have offered us in 2021, look online for the epic 18-minute bonus track “The Dhampir” that they released with the limited edition of “Where The Gloom Becomes Sound”.

Rating: 6.510
Editor: Dimitris Benetatos
Related Link: TRIBULATION – Official Page