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Since forming in 2005, Sweden’s Tribulation have released five studio albums, with a sixth due November 1st via Century Media Records. Known for their blend of gothic rock and death metal the four-piece have earned a dedicated following over the past 20 years.
The first full-length album since 2021’s Where The Gloom Becomes Sound, Sub Rosa In Æternum is cold, dark, and gloomy. With just enough of their signature death metal elements to keep it interesting, this latest offering is definitely Tribulation’s most traditional album yet. With four singles (Saturn Coming Down, Tainted Skies, Hungry Waters, and Murder In Red) giving fans a look at what’s to come, the five remaining tracks will not disappoint.
On track one, The Unrelenting Choir, Johannes Andersson’s stripped-back bass makes way for a classic goth number that wouldn’t have been out of place in 1980’s Leeds. I like it.
Tainted Skies picks up the pace but keeps it dark. Featuring more of the death metal elements fans have come to expect, this is probably my favourite track of the album. However, the abrupt ending, followed by Saturn Coming Down’s relatively slow start, created a bit of a jolt that had me checking if my phone had disconnected (slightly dramatic but, still). It’s obviously a deliberate choice, and I don’t mind a definite end if it’s on the final song, but mid-album I’m not a fan. This sudden finish then gradual intro is my only criticism, I’m just not convinced it suits the slower, more melodic sound, on a faster more aggressive album it works, but this isn’t that.
Time & The Vivid Ore is probably the heaviest song on this release, more death than goth, maybe more of a classic Tribulation track for those who are familiar with the band.
Six-minute Poison Pages closes out the album nicely with the kind of gradual fadeaway I wanted all along.
Overall the album is a perfect blend of classic gothic rock, gloomy bass, and choral backing vocals, but while it could pass for a newly unearthed ’80s 12-inch from some dismal Yorkshire town, there’s enough of a death metal infusion to keep it fresh and set it apart. Tribulation are by now well practised at expertly blending fast and slow, creating contrast without clashing, Sub Rosa In Æternum is 9 tracks of their perfected hybrid sound.
Having just finished a North American run with Opeth, the band have announced an EU/UK tour in support of the new album, starting on 13.02.2025 in Copenhagen. The tour includes five UK dates for February: starting with Manchester – 18th, London – 19th, Glasgow – 20th, Birmingham – 21st, and finishing in Leicester – 22nd. Don’t miss it! Unless you’re Welsh or Irish, in which case you, as usual, have little choice.
Out 01.11.2024 via Century Media Records
More information can be found here.
Review – Morven
Photo Credit: Damón Zurawski
Tour dates:
13 Feb – DK – Copenhagen – Hotel Cecil
14 Feb – DE – Hamburg – Kulturpalast
15 Feb – NL – Utrecht – De Helling
16 Feb – NL – Venlo – Grenswerk
18 Feb – UK – Manchester – Rebellion
19 Feb – UK – London – The Underworld
20 Feb – UK – Glasgow – Slay
21 Feb – UK – Birmingham – Asylum
22 Feb – UK – Leicester – O2 Academy2
24 Feb – BE – Ghent – Asgaard
26 Feb – CH – Basel – Sudhaus
27 Feb – IT – Milan – Legend Club
28 Feb – DE – Burglengenfeld – VAZ
1 Mar – AT – Vienna – Szene
2 Mar – HU – Budapest – Durer Kert
4 Mar – PL – Krakow – Hype Park
5 Mar – PL – Warsaw – Hybrydy
6 Mar – DE – Berlin – SO 36
7 Mar – DE – Hannover – Béi Chéz Heinz
8 Mar – DE – Essen – Turock
