Tribulation – Where The Gloom Becomes Sound
Release Date: 29th January 2021
Label: Century Media
Buy/Stream
Genre: Heavy Metal, Gothic Rock, Black Metal.
FFO: Ghost, Dissection, Witchcraft.
Review By: Ken Love
On Where The Gloom Becomes Sound, Sweden’s Tribulation unilaterally enhance their claim to be one of metal’s most exciting, unique and intriguing bands. Their native Sweden is a country that has given birth to a ridiculous number of truly innovative metal acts; artists like Opeth, Meshuggah, At The Gates or Dissection are bands that not only gain plaudits for the quality of their output, but also for the sheer ingenuity and creativity they brought forth too:- they created new sounds and approaches to metal that changed its landscape forever. Tribulation, to these ears, could arguably sit in a similar space. While you have heard many of the component elements of this band, no one else quite assembles them in the way they do. The dark psychedelic classic rock soundscapes, huge rock star guitars with particularly glorious melodic lead work, all juxtaposed by the gnarled blackened sneer of vocalist, Johannes Andersson that on the surface shouldn’t work – the vocals and music clashing like orange juice and milk – yet, somehow, it works. So fucking well. It’s this glorious paradox between the melodic, angelic and – more often than not – beautiful musical tapestry that is so perfectly countered by the corpse paint, misanthropic subject matter & Andersson’s demonic vocal delivery. It’s a really special brew.
Where The Gloom Becomes Sound has a warmth – a glow – in its production that feels incredibly organic and natural; it’s like the album is a breathing entity. This is far more the case than on their previous albums. This production job compliments the music so perfectly, in particular highlighting the wonderful & uplifting guitar work carrying the album. There are moments all over WTGBS that will sweep you away; in particular ‘Hour of the Wolf’ which – no matter how many times I listen to it – makes me want to headbang and dance, while I both sneer and smile. Encapsulating the oxymoron that is Tribulation perfectly in one song; it’s a fucking wonderful song that will be incredible live. ‘Leviathans’ has a similar effect, the song breaking down in the middle with a tolling of a bell and lone organ playing followed by a magnificent developing guitar line that explodes with a grunt from Andersson and – in that moment – life is good. The wonderfully titled ‘Dirge of a Dying Soul’ is a superb doom-laden lament that serves as the perfect precursor to the roaring, up tempo ‘Daughter Of The Dijnn’ that will kick you hard in the stones; these two examples showcase the best of this album in microcosm.
Where The Gloom Becomes Sound is where vocalist Andersson manages to find a perfect middle ground between the extremity of his twisted-Black Metal vocal while successfully weaving a clarity, legibility and hooks into the mix that is perfectly balanced. It’s a great achievement and a fantastic performance from the front man. It would be a man of the match performance were it not for guitarist Jonathan Hultén who, as principle composer of the material, cannot be applauded more highly for the quality of the music on show. There is a fantastic balance of up tempo bangers like ‘Hour of the Wolf’, ‘Daughter of the Dijn’ and ‘Funeral Pyre’ aligned with slower or more morose material though all with the common thread of being fantastically well composed and written.
It’s Tribulation’s ability to combine polished melodic rock with extreme metal into a perfect and truly unique symbiotic beast that makes them so special. The most appropriate word I have for Tribulation is ‘balanced’. They take things to extreme’s yet somehow manage to find the right central point between the two worlds so as not to overstep the mark. If there is any justice in the world, Tribulation should take a huge step towards major recognition within the metal world because, on Where The Gloom Becomes Sound, they thoroughly deserve it.
Genuinely superb.
(4.5 / 5)
