Sweden’s black gothic musicians are back with a new dark opus. Since their album Children of the Night, Tribulation has become fond of the nosferatu imagery, their lyrics became pertained to occultism and vampirism. Tribulation has delivered a blackened record which contains catchy and rich ingredients. And for this reason they have made necessary changes with Down Below. By shifting their motif to unlock new elements and to delve towards profound territories.

Sonically Down Below is more of a continuation to their previous album which wasn’t only groundbreaking, but rather a revolutionary release in terms of innovation and originality. Down Below wanders around beautiful melodies, cascading imaginative landscapes over gothic pinnacles, their creativity strength flowed naturally resulting into a new masterwork album.

The guitar hooks of Adam Zaars and Jonathan Hultén has never cease to impress the listener with their catchy riffs. Johannes Anderson‘s vocals became more harsh and gloomy, fitting perfectly to the kind of music they play. Along with the cinematic castings and the dark atmospheric cadence, it clearly shows how Tribulation has intensified their sound. The opening track The Lament  is delivered in a sepulchral mood, aroused with grim vampire growls. Tribulation tends to bring marvellous melodies that are layered with heavy guitars and soft piano. Night Bound is very melodic and dark toned, the song structures are composed wisely with distinctive refined solos and grim vocals.

While Lady Death is more of a heavy track presented with a steady rhythms. I personally found this track to be appealing more to their previous album Children of the Night. The elegant guitar replicates the vibe of the 70’s progressive rock. Subterranea sweeps in with a piano passage, the eerie melodies makes an interesting opening for the track when suddenly the guitars build dark moody riffs. The wide use of instrumentation’s in Down Below has given the entire album another dimensional aspect. If you listen carefully to their instrumental track Purgatorio you will sense the hypnotic similarities to Cauda Pavonis.

With a magniloquent style of gothic horror themes Cries from the Underworld is composed uniquely. Unlike Children of the Night which have had a strong impact because of its originality and innovation, Down Below is more in the same vein but slightly heavier and more refined. While the instrumentations are more likely experimental with the use of xylophone and organ given the album an extravagant multi sound. Lacrimosa is one of the catchiest tracks, it is stripped artistically with its dramatic ending with the use of 70s organ and the solemn chant that gives it a macabre feeling.

The refined heavy guitars riffs are the secret key for Tribulation‘s success, always casting their magical moments with grim vocals, and rhythmic chord lines. The album has a very modern sound to it while the production is crystal clear. Though the music shifts your imagination carrying you into the realm of phantoms and cathedrals, as all you will hear is dark opus merged with beautiful melodies.

Release date: January 26th, 2018
Label: Century Media Records
Tracklist:
1. The Lament
2. Nightbound
3. Lady Death
4. Subterranea
5. Purgatorio
6. Cries from the Underworld
7. Lacrimosa
8. The World
9. Here be Dragons