Inspiration and contrast of Tribulation

Tribulation just completed an American tour with Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, and Aeon. This was the band"s second trip to the states-- how much have you learned from the first tour with Watain?
A lot, you learn everytime you try something new. That is why being open minded and trying new things are very important to us, music wise and personally. We learned how the American black metal crowd works that time, this second time around we learned how to deal with the death metal crowd. I thought that the crowds would be similar, but they turned out to quite different actually, another thing learned: genres are much more important in the states than in Europe. All in all: two very interesting experiences, although differing from one another.

I like your new album, The Children of the Night, very much. How would you say this album is different from Formulas of Death?
Thank you very much! For me the main difference is that we wrote this album more as a band. I wasn’t in the band at the time the other guys started working on the material for The Formulas of Death, keep in mind it took six years to complete, I only joined the last year or so before the recording. I basically learned the songs and added some drum parts here and there and then we recorded it. Not that I don’t love it, I do. Otherwise I would never have joined the band,  but this time all four of us took time meeting up every day arranging the songs for months before we entered the studio. That makes a huge difference for me personally. On a more general level, I would say that it’s stranger, and more accessible. The songs aren’t as long and filled with time changes, but on the same time they contain some of our „weirdest“ stuff up to date. The whole production is more naked and honest and so is the song writing in my opinion. You’ll definately hear the difference but you’ll also most definately hear that it’s the same band!

Which studio did you use for The Children of the Night?
We used Studio Gröndahl to track the drums, Nicke Andersson’s studio Honk Palace for guitars, bass guitar and vocals and Studio Kobra for various overdubs.
It might seem stressful to change studios all the time, but it actually helps you keep focused on what’s important and helps getting on with the process. Normally when you do a recording, the first one hundred or so times you listen to it all you can think of is your own performance, at least that’s how I work. Closing the door to the studio where you did your part and moving on to new tasks in new studios helps finishing that chapter in your mind as well, and you can focus on what’s important for the moment. Be it guitar solos, bass lines or xylophones.

How long did the recording process take?
About four weeks all in all. Then we spent a few weeks mixing and mastering it, and we approved the last master basically on our way to the airport for the US tour. Never a dull moment.

Who wrote most of the music and lyrics for the album? Can you give a summary about the songs  on the album and theme behind the songs?

Adam and Jonathan has written about half of the songs each. To summarize all of the songs individually would take too much time but generally I would say the lyrical theme, at least to some extent and how I interpret them, deal with the untouchable. The things you can’t grasp, things you might want or need for taking yourself to new heights. Inspiration is a word that comes to mind. Summarizing the music is even harder, every song has a different role to play and a special part that it must deliver to help build the album. Contrasts I guess could be a short answer.
 Inspiration and contrast. That’s the themes for The Children of the Night in my world.

Is Tribulation planning to come back to the states after the European tour?

We certainly do! No plans confirmed yet and no dates set, but we’ll be back. Be ready and keep watch.

What's your impression of American fans? I met you guys at the merch booth at one of your shows, I thought it was great how you guys were interacting with the fans.

Great! Alongside the germans you guys are the most dedicated metal heads I’ve ever seen. People queue up outside the venue the whole day even though it’s minus degrees celsius outside and almost everyone is super cool and friendly! Yes, I love spending time with the people who come to the show, it’s a great way to get to know the city and get a feel for the area. We did alot of all-ages shows on this tour, which was great. It’s always cool to meet people getting into heavy music at a young age. That is above all inspiring. If someone can feel the way I felt when I heard The Last in Line the first time when seeing Tribulation perform live, then my mission is complete.

Thank you for doing this interview. You guys put out another great album!
Thank you! 
//Jakob Ljungberg, Tribulation.