Tribulation released their latest album Sub Rosa In Æternum earlier in November and it’s is a class record.
The opening to first track The Unrelenting Choir has me hooked with its eerie instrumentation that increases in intensity and atmosphere as the guitars come in. It’s haunting and just what I like to hear.
As the vocals kick in, the haunting, gothic sound is amplified and quite frankly I love it.
I’ve not really listened to Tribulation before but this introduction is a positive one.
Tainted Skies is much more upbeat with the guitars working well with the drums. The hoarse vocals fit well too, and there’s backing harmonies to contrast. I really enjoyed it and am quite annoyed with myself for missing out on Tribulation for all these years.
Hungry Waters I think is a standout for me. I just absolutely love the instrumentation throughout. However, later in the album we have Reaping Song and this takes the top spot for the song of the album. The way the lyrics are written is absolutely fantastic and the delivery really conveys the meaning well.
The haunting sounds come back for the aptly titled Murder in Red and it has a bit of a jazzy synth sound to the introduction. I also love the almost operatic style of background vocals at times throughout.
Time & The Vivid Ore brings back the heavier sound that hasn’t really been heard since the early part of the album. It’s good and a fun shift from the gothic metal we’ve had for the majority of the album and although I think this has some of the best lyrics on the album in it, I do prefer the more gothic sound.
Sub Rosa In Æternum is a really good album. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it but I absolutely love it. There are funky bass lines throughout, including on Saturn Coming Down, and the vocals from Johannes Andersson are great – from haunting and gothic to rough growl-like vocals work really well as the vocal tone perfectly matches not only the instrumentation but the lyrics too.
There are some fantastic guitar riffs throughout the album and the drums shine through really well and are quite funky at times, particularly the opening to Hungry Waters.
The album definitely focuses more on the gothic side of their sound. I’m not a fan of death metal but the way it’s fused in with the gothic sound is absolutely stunning and I’m off to listen to this on repeat!