Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death

For anyone who heard Tribulation's The Horror back in 2009 I'm sure The Formulas Of Death was a hype piece. The Horror was brutally refreshing coming from the revival scene. It was crammed with stunning, nigh-perfect riff progressions at a breakneck pace, all backed with plenty of hooks and a solid production.

The Formulas Of Death is a different beast, and I can only commend Tribulation's willingness to experiment with such a successful formula (intended puns are the best puns). Perhaps Tribulation realized that the revival movement was full of enough knuckle-dragging apes and that there was nothing new they could add without becoming redundant and falling prey to fans' fleeting memories. Whatever the case, they made the right decision with their newest release.

Progressive music is a mixed bag of brilliant ideas and haphazard, fruity garbage that I wouldn't deign to listen to. Progressive elements are generally a good thing as they can add variety and enhance the dynamic of many songs. They can be overbearing and obnoxiously obvious in the case with popular progressive acts like Opeth on their later material, or far more subtle and nuanced in the case of a band like Anata. The Formulas Of Death falls under the latter category, and progressive is the last thing anyone would associate with the revival movement. There's loads of atmospheric interludes, guitar effects, eastern scale progressions, dissonant arpeggiated chords, and free-range breaks to the typical Swedish sound. For example the middle of "Suspiria" is slow, backed by a two-beat and flanged harmonics before falling into a bass groove sprinkled with dissonant muted notes. Eventually the track phases (quite literally) back into reality before phasing out again to explore a few more areas of the aural plane.

Each track on The Formulas Of Death has elements which set it firmly apart from whatever The Horror was doing. While this might be a disappointment to some, the music is equally compelling and in many aspects better. I love the subtle displays of musicianship throughout the album. Solos are (obviously) technical and almost feel improvised, and other times the effects dominate the sound of them to the point that the notes are almost unrecognizable. In the end they always fall back into a traditional sounding mold which keeps them entertaining. "Through The Velvet Black "is a solid example of this. Jakob Ljungberg's rhythm work is highly varied and in the middle of a riff progression he'll switch beats, either increasing the speed of the kicks or adding cymbal embellishments where necessary. Every member of the band does their part to create a refreshingly experimental-lite, death metal album.

There aren't any truly standout tracks on this album either. There are no headbangable crusty death metal d-beaters or anything like that. I guess "Wanderer In The Outer Darkness" might be the most approachable from that mindset, but even with how direct it is, the track is anything but stereotypical. With an underlying atmosphere evoking imagery of a wandering trek through the desert, swampy marshlands, or foggy moors, The Formulas Of Death is a very visual album. The production and heavy use of effects add to this feel, giving each track its own personality like the listener is traversing different aspects of a deranged psyche. Their use also keeps the album's variation and my attention at a high. This makes The Formulas Of Death memorable even after quite a few listens.

It might be a bit of a risky move, but I think Tribulation have really caught onto something with The Formulas Of Death. The seamless merging of progressive elements, dynamic songwriting, and Swedish-tinged death metal is something that isn't all that common. They execute it damn well.

8.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:
1. Vagina Dentata
2. Wanderer In The Outer Darkness

3. Spectres

4. לילה
5. Suspiria
6. Through The Velvet Black
7. Rånda
8. When The Sky Is Black With Devils
9. Spell
10. Ultra Silvam
11. Apparitions

Listen // Buy

Necrovorous - Funeral For The Sane

What a year for death metal. The frothing-at-the-mouth horde of OSDM fanboys has to be sated by this point. Greece's Necrovorous hit the scene to force-feed more reverb and subterranean production to the old school death metal fan in you.

Hmm. Let's take a dense slab of death metal and slather it with a bit of d-beat, and sprinkle it with a pinch of doom.That must have been what Necrovorous were thinking when they wrote Funeral For The Sane. Necrovorous for some reason sound very modern although typically combining the aforementioned elements that comprise the early-mid '90s sound. In a similar vein to Swedish acts Tribulation or maybe even Revolting, Necrovorous' Funeral For The Sane plods along at a familiar mid-pace. "Succubus Dormitory" sets the tone for the album but is soon forgotten as Necrovorous plunges into the pit-opener "The Flesh That Smiles." I just love how you can hear A. Devilpig's (what a retarded name) fingers sliding around the guitar strings, and the basslines close to the end reverberate with a nice intensity. The production is really something to talk about here. It's dense, dark, and every instrument stands out in the mix. This is how old school death metal in general should sound with 2011 production techniques.

There's a lot of groove to this album. Songs like "Malignant Entrapment" and my favorite on the album, "The Vilest Of All Dreams" are chugging monstrosities. The latter begins with a solo and some doomier riffs which lead into a fun mosh riff backed by a d-beat. As with most OSDM, there isn't much in the way of technicality on this album, and the musicians get by with some of the more simple riffing this side of Dead Congregation. That's totally fine by me.

Obviously this is all stuff you've heard before, and that does make Necrovorous' latest seem a bit less appealing. Now you might be one of those asshats (don't worry I'm one too) that's like "Oh shit another OSDM clones' release to throw into the folder already filled with a hundred other albums." Funeral For The Sane is actually worth listening to. It's a catchy departure from the usual noisy riffs and Incantation worship bands that seem to be the current trend.

7.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Sanity's Fall (Intro)
2.	Succubus Dormitory
3.	The Flesh That Smiles
4.	The Vilest of All Dreams
5.	Deathknells
6.	Mind Lacerations
7.	Malignant Entrapment
8.	Spawn of Self Abhorrence
9.	Funeral for the Sane
10.	Dwellers of My Flesh