Album Review: Tribulation - Alive And Dead At Sodra Teatern
Reviewed by Jon Wigg
How to do justice to one of the most atmospheric metal bands in a live surrounding. No ordinary venue would do. Swedish blackened gothic masters Tribulation up the ante by playing Stockholm's oldest theatre, Södra Teatern, in front of a seated audience and this really provides added sonic presence between songs and during the quieter sections of their songs.
The first part of the album is a complete run through of their latest studio offering, 2018's 'Down Below'. This is an album that almost needs to be listened to in its entirety, rather than picking off individual tracks, and this is an excellent way to do so. From the opening acoustic guitar parts of 'The Lament', Tribulation provide an evening of superb metal. 'Down Below' sways more towards gothic, prog/proto-metal with amazing riffs, drumming from Oscar Leander that drives forward when necessary but also stays subtle when required, and keyboard parts that enhance the songs rather than overwhelming.
You could play a lot of 'Down Below' to any Cure or Fields of the Nephilim fan and they would be right there with you. Indeed the video of 'Strains of Horror' taken from this concert could be straight out of a Nephilim gig with loads of backlighting and smoke. The death metal vocals of Johannes Andersson (who does double duty on bass) might cause some concern for them but lyrics are recognisable throughout and in this setting, provide an almost ethereal quality. This might be the band that crosses them over to the heavy side.
The excellent guitar work from Jonathan Hultén and Adam Zaars is highlighted in Nightbound which has elements of death and traditional metal and even a 70's rock feel in parts. The atmosphere drips off these songs live, even more so than on the original and highlights even more what an amazing metal album 'Down Below' is.
The second part of 'Alive & Dead At Södra Teatern' is made up of tracks from their second and third albums, 'The Formulas of Death' (2013) and 'The Children of the Night' (2015). From the latter, 'Melancholia', 'The Motherhood of God', 'Strange Gateways Beckon' and 'Strains of Horror' provide a similar feel to the earlier tracks from 'Down Below'. You can hear the evolution between 'The Children of the Night' and 'Down Below' with the former being more traditional metal and still having more of the death metal feel especially in the chords and drumming.
Sandwiched between these tracks are two from 'The Formulas of Death' in 'Rånda' and 'Ultra Silvam' which display even more of the blackened death metal origins of the band. If you are new to Tribulation, it might even be wise to listen to the 2 parts of this performance in reverse, starting with 'Melancholia' then finishing with 'Down Below' in full, to appreciate their evolution.
No tracks from debut The Horror are on show but although this album is a fantastic death metal slab, these songs really wouldn't fit it here, so its a wise choice. Tribulation really do their blend of psychedelic, prog, melodic, blackened, gothic, death metal justice on 'Alive & Dead At Södra Teatern' and I would thoroughly recommend anyone who likes heavy or gothic music to take a listen.
Tribulation released 'Alive & Dead At Södra Teatern' on November 15th via Century Media.
