Review by Felix on September 24, 2019.

Tribulation is a band that transforms itself much faster than I can think. This results in the fact that their second work gave me an ambivalent feeling and I was not interested in their following efforts, because the way ahead was already charted. But their debut left an enormous impact, at least in my living room. Due to the great potential of the band, it still baffles me that the Swedish horde released its first work on a label from Singapore. Did nobody in their homeland - or at least in Europe - realize their great abilities? Okay, my boss does not realize my great skills as well, but this review does not deal with that physically fat yet mentally thin guy. (I mean my boss, not me.)

Aptly titled, The Horror spreads a nightmarish aura. All tracks are totally reckless, and many combine furious and morbid elements, but the raging sections definitely prevail. The songs cannot be easily categorized. It's a mix of all relevant extreme sub genres, black, death and thrash metal - in this order. The high level of energy has the highest priority and ensures the homogeneity of the debut. The listener faces the eye of the storm as soon as the opener breaks loose. Its solos border on insanity and King and Hanneman (R.I.P.) would love them if they could listen to them. But the solos are just one building block, it happens a lot during the tracks. They are equipped with the right number of breaks without being progressive. On the other hand, the tempo changes, the slicing guitars and the omnipresent force guarantee an exciting listening experience. Tribulation do not only concentrate on high velocity, but they have integrated hyper-fast sections in each and every song. This leads to nine high class eruptions which profit from a brilliant sound. The voluminous guitars pave the way, but they do not sideline the hateful voice or the thundering drums. No doubt, listeners who are not used to consume metal, will describe this mix with words like apocalyptic, hellish and brutal.

Speaking of brutality, we may not forget that these dudes originate from Sweden. This means that their DNA is a very specific one and they are not able to present brutality for the sake of itself. They also have great technical skills and therefore they play very tightly, precisely and powerfully. And, even better, the group does not run out of ideas. Quite the contrary, the longer The Horror lasts, the better its songs become. The outbreak on the eighth position, 'Seduced by the Smell of Rotten Flesh' starts with flattening guitars, but a high-speed eruption is following immediately. Great riffs and hammering drums characterize this relatively long outbreak of hate, but there is also a contrasting section that holds some gloomy keyboard. All different parts go hand in hand and its spooky outro seems to be an excerpt of a feast of vampires in an old castle. (Please send me an e-mail if vivid imagination needs to be treated.)

The closer convinces with a fantastic structure, too. It delivers an example for those songs where, all of a sudden, a pretty melodic guitar line leaves the orgy of brutality behind and adds an unexpected ingredient. No doubt, Tribulation used a great recipe when penning this diabolic work and it remains a pity that they threw their successful formula away after finishing it. I guess they belong to these overly ambitious musicians who always feel the need to say that they hate to record the same album twice. But who has ever asked me whether I agree with that attitude? I wish The Horror would have a very similar brother, but its kinship rather consists of dubious creatures.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Tara on January 28, 2018.

If you were not a fan of Tribulation's 2015 goth metal epic Children of the Night, do not continue reading this review since the days of this group being a straight-forward death metal band are long gone at this point in time. Although the death metal influence is still very well presented, it is only just a fraction of what Tribulation has to offer.  The Swedish quartet continues in similar fashion on their latest release Down Below and kicks it up a notch with even more elements of horror, prog, 80s new wave and  folk metal combined with romantic gothic overtones. It's a style that works very well and overall; Down Below is an extremely pleasurable and satisfying listen from start to finish.

The album opener entitled ”The Lament" begins as a somber, gothic melody that slowly builds into a more death metal enhanced atmosphere with harsh, yet clear vocals. It sounds eerily similar to earlier Moonspell material or even Sentenced on their Love & Death death metal / gothic opus, blended with 80s goth/new wave rock. It's a real eye-opener and is only just the start of what is to be expected.  In the center of it all is the moody interlude "Purgatorio," which is an absolute haunting piece that breaks up the flow of things a bit. The last four tracks on Down Below, specifically the closer "Here Be Dragons," are on the slightly heavier side of things. Bigger riffs and larger-than-life melodies set the stage, and when the album is over it will leave the audience wanting more!

Much like its most recent predecessor, Down Below is heavily compiled with powerful stand-alone songs. As a whole album, however, the experience is all that much more enjoyable; it's formatted in a flawless manner and is the perfect length, an effortless creation despite all of its complexities. Call Tribulation what you will: goth metal, death metal, horror metal; the truth of the matter is, they don't fit under any specific sub genre of metal, and that is just a part of what makes them so special. Here's to hoping we get more stellar releases from these guys for the next few decades.

Tribulation has found their niche in the realm of metal. Down Below is now available worldwide from Century Media!

Rating: 8 out of 10