With the shrieking banshee desperately reaching for your delicious flesh on the album cover, The Horror is aptly titled and steamrolls you over with blood-curdling vocals and Dismember style buzz saw distortion. I don’t think I have heard such a Swedish ruckus since Evocation’s Tales from the Tomb. What we have here is a razor knife to the jugular of blackened Swedish death metal, with high octane speed, and guitar wizardry from the depths of Hell.
Tribulation, have been around since 2001 and despite this debut album have numerous demos and an EP under their belt. Though, hardly contributing anything new, The Horror pays homage to many colonizers of death metal and delivers a top-notch display of fierce, nasty, thrashing death metal, with attitude lost by many in the modern metal world. Backed with horror themes and Enforcer guitarist Adam Zaars, Tribulation blow doors wide open with power, catchy riffs, and savory duel guitars that will make Slayer, Morbid Angel, Carcass and any Stockholm fans weak in the knees.
“Crypt of Thanatophilia,” starts things of and picks up speed three times within the first half of the song. Thrash power chords and blasts fill this record with piercing urgency that dwells heavily in the black metal realm making this occult cobbler taste ever so sweet.
The groove is firmly in place within Tribulation’s sound and at times carries an Entombed quality. Clocking in at just over a half hour this bad mother holds enough tastefully written riffs to school many of today’s greenhorns. “Curse of Resurrection,” Slams with Egyptian style soloing and one could draw another comparison to Melechesh. The solos run rampant throughout and are important to the catchiness of this record.
J. Andersson handles vocal and bass duties and remits a raspy, gut gurgle of the tongue similar to Naglfar, Jeff Walker, and Necrophobic. Mixed and mastered by Tore Stjerna of Necromorbus Studios (Watain and In Battle) the down right rotten aroma this CD gives off is all too perfect.
With this type of an album you know what you’re going to get. For a debut, The Horror is bloodthirsty nod to the old school that reeks of quality musicianship. If you want your face devoured by the crypt keeper then look no further. Tribulation is fun stuff.
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I like this, but not loving it yet
Shane did you hear Evocation’s last CD- Dead Calm Chaos? If tales from the Tomb was Entombed worship, Dead Calm Chaos is pure Dismember/Grave homage
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 07:41I haven’t heard the new Evocation yet. I figured you would love this, Erik.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 07:48I got more of a black thrash vibe than pure stockholm dm (though its there)
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 07:51very much enjoying this! Gives me a similar vibe to the sadly missed Defleshed. Fast Forward is high on my list of all-time favorite albums and while The Horror does not eclipse that album it measures up very nicely
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 08:10Ah, Defleshed! Yes, very good comparison
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 08:24Goddamned ripping CD!
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 12:14Whoa, lots of killer comparisons being tossed around here. Defleshed? Evocation? Melechesh? I’m definitely gonna have to look into this. Nice write up Shane.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 23:32I love this record, been spinning it for about three weeks!
This recaptures some of that “lost attitude” is dead on!
Very solid and highly recommended!
on Apr 23rd, 2009 at 01:50Sweet fing Jesus this cd came out of nowhere and suckerpunched the hell out of me!Awesome review,I had missed this one,thanks guys!
on Apr 24th, 2009 at 12:43