Last time I saw Tribulation was 9 years ago, when their European tour with Vampire and Grave Pleasures stopped in Vienna on the 21st of January 2016. Man, that’s a fucking long time and some many things happened since then…Last year they announced their first ever headlining European tour in support of the latest album Svb Rosa In Aeternvm so I bought the tickets for the Budapest show the moment they came out. Initially set to the take place at Dürer Kert, the concert was eventually moved to another location, Analog Music Hall, which, as I was soon about to find out, was not a bad move after all.
It was announced that the opening band will be Livgone, the new international (super)group fronted by the charismatic Élise Aranguren and featuring members from 3 countries (France, Poland, Sweden). They have released their captivating debut album “Almost There” almost a year, via the Finnish label Svart Records.
I was very curious about this concert, especially that it was the 1st time when Tribulation were playing as headliners and that meant a longer and more complex setlist. On the other hand, I was very curious to see how the new songs from the recent album will sound in a live setting. A couple of days before the show I found out that band’s guitarist Joseph Toll was not on this tour, the band bringing their old friend Tobias Alpadie (Dead Lord, VAK) as his replacement. I found it a bit weird the band did not say anything about it before the start of the tour, but I guess they know better. As it will turn out later, Tobias made Joseph‘s absence go (almost) unnoticed.
Anyway, the big day arrived and even though I was pestered by an annoying cold, once at the location I instantly got in the mood for the show. The merch stand was packed with all sorts of goodies from both bands, from signed vinyl’s and cd’s to many types of shirts and other merchandise. The prices were quite friendly and some items were offered with a discount after the show. I purchased the Livgone LP which was on my list for some time and, thanks to Elise, I got to it signed by the whole band later that evening.
I was eager for Livgone‘s performance, first of all because I liked their studio album very much and second, because their drummer is none other than the hell machine himself, Emil Svensson, whom we all know from several other extreme metal bands. With Livgone he plays in a completely different spectrum, in a much slower (but still heavier) way than the one he plays in Watain, Degial or Unpure, and that is even more interesting. His versatility is truly amazing and watching him destroy the drum kits last night reminded me why I consider him one of the greatest metal drummers of his generation.
But Livgone is not only about one person, as each of its members contributes equally to the band’s success. Elise is a spectacular appearance, her voice suits perfectly this ethereal doom style Livgone is playing and her ritualistic moves and dances provided the music a trance like feeling. I was extremely surprised to see that instead of Ghul (who’s been recently joined the band), the second guitars were handled by Simon Evangelista, a musician whom I know from the French black metal fanatics Malhkebre. Him and Neithan had a very good musical chemistry during the whole set, I really liked how the 2 guitars intertwined and communicated with each other. The band played almost all the songs from their full length plus an additional new song, Childhood Landscapes, during a show that was both quite short but very intense at the same time. As I told Elise after the concert, I’d definitely love to see them play again, and maybe next time with a longer set list. Great performance, well done guys!
After the mandatory change over and a very short sound check, everyting was ready for the arrival of the Swedish vampires. Incense sticks were lit, the lights were dimmed and the band entered the foggy stage decorated with gothic church stained glass on the sounds of The Unrelenting Choir, the intro which opens their newest record. Being the headliners on this tour allowed Tribulation to play a more varied and stronger set list, covering all their previous albums, with the exception of The Horror, of course. To my delight and excitement they played the fantastic Suspiria de Profundis in full, one of the songs I love the most from the excellent Formulas of Death record, followed by RÃ¥nda and Ultra Silvam, also from the same record. They also played 3 songs from Down Below , one of them being the incredible The Lament, which sounded as good as on the album, in my humble opinion. That was the moment when I realized that it won’t matter who plays the second guitar in Tribulation, they will always bring in the right guy for the job. Tobias already played with them some time ago, so he was not a stranger to the songs and it was a real pleasure watching him doing the solos or some lead parts. There is a strong chemistry floating around within the band, you could feel it just by watching them move around on stage and interacting with each other during the songs. Adam Zaars still looks as the most reserved in his right corner, but he doesn’t shy from coming to the front of the stage or from joining both Johannes or Tobias during the songs. There’s some theatricality in their gestures as well which I think suits the music and the visuals perfectly. They also played the title track from the 2023 EP, Hamartia, a song which sounds very good because of the secondary vocals, usually done by Joseph. It wasn’t the case last night and the lack of these vocals made the song less powerful and a bit incomplete.
To the audience’s delight, the band played a bunch of songs from the newest album as well, focusing on the most “popular” ones. Besides the already mentioned The Unrelenting Choir and Tainted Skies, they also played the excellent Saturn Coming Down with its catchy guitar lines that made the crowd jump, Murder in Red (which sounds surprisingly good in a live setting) and Hungry Waters. I was not sure how Johannes‘s new vocal style will sound live, but there were no problems there. His clean vocals sounded amazing, he mastered them very well and I must say they fit the songs pretty well in a live setting too. The band ended the show with Lacrimosa, a track from their most underrated album (in my opinion) Where the Gloom Becomes Sound, before exiting the stage in a glorious manner. But the crowd relentlessly cheered for more, so very soon after, Tribulation took the stage again for the last song of the evening, the already live classic Strange Gateways Beckon.
It was a real pleasure to see them again after such a long time and the set list was truly amazing. The band seems to be at its most creative peak and you can see that from their relaxed way of playing and from the passion they put in their music. Nothing was left out, every detail was perfectly accounted for and Tribulation, together with Livgone, gave their best on stage, definitely turning this evening into a memorable one.
LIVGONE SET LIST BUDAPEST:
1. Dance So I Can
2. Watching them
3. Childhood Lanscapes
4. J’y Suis Presque
5. Silverstone
6. Hypoesthesia
TRIBULATION SET LIST BUDAPEST:
1. The Unrelenting Choir
2. Tainted Skies
3. Nightbound
4. The Lament
5. Hamartia
6. Suspiria de Profundis
7. RÃ¥nda
8. Ultra Silvam
9. Melancholia
10. In Remembrance
11. Hungry Waters
12. Saturn Coming Down
13. Murder in Red
14. Lacrimosa
15. Strange Gateways Beckon (encore)
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