TRIBULATION

The ominous keyboards of brief intro "Into the Jaws of Hell" give way to a blast of old school SLAYER-isms with a blackened bite on "Crypt of Thanatophilia" and it becomes immediately clear that Sweden's TRIBULATION are not about peaceful protest or polite conversation. Not to be confused with the late '80s/early '90s act, these Swedes bare their teeth with a full blown blackened thrash attack that had me lamenting the disbanding of SUMMON.

A keyboard snippet here and there adds to the album's obsidian air and the attack is as full throttle and demonically devastating as IMPIETY, as well the aforementioned heavyweights. Solos slice through the air like scythes, accompanying lethal chainsaw riffs and bassist Johannes Andersson's vocal viciousness. The brutality is so brazen that at times DISMEMBER comes to mind, if only because of a death metal weightiness that has the listener feeling like he's being clobbered relentlessly with a baseball bat. Even better, the songs are individualistic and memorable, and I mean across the entire album. Excellent transitions, stop-on-a-dime changeups, and the occasional atmospheric bit (e.g. the spooky light picking and cymbal wash on "Beyond the Horror" that bleeds into the explosion of "The Vampyre") considerably up the dynamics.

At little more than half an hour, "The Horror" shocks like the first seconds of a home invasion, wreaks havoc, and leaves the victims cowering in the corner, stunned and amazed at the events that just occurred. Yeah, TRIBULATION do serious damage. It is heartening to know that there are still bands around that can executive with such speed and precision, while never forgetting about the fundamentals of a good song. Loud as hell, fast as fuck indeed!