Tribunal - The Weight of Remembrance (2023)
by Flork
As January 2024 kicks off, I diverge back into the past a bit, in fact, I turn the clock back almost one year to January of 2023. In this month, the Vancouver, Canada duo Tribunal released their debut full-length album, The Weight of Remembrance. Yet, why do I choose to review something from the near past and not from the present moment? That’s a good question, and not hard to answer. It’s because Tribunal is likely the best doom metal band you have never heard of to emerge from 2023. Really, it’s an amazing piece of work, full of emotion that evokes images of the Carpathian Mountains here, in Slovakia, rather than the west coast of Canada. And though it took a full year for this hidden gem to make its way to the foothills of Carpathia, I can say honestly that the wait has been well worth it.
The Weight of Remembrance explores a range of doom and gothic metal styles. Beyond their influences, Tribunal creatively blends haunting female vocals and black metal growls, showcasing a dynamic interplay of dissonance and melody. Soren Mourne, the bassist and vocalist, who is also, by the way, a trained cellist, brings a classical element to the music, incorporating her beautiful voice with the backdrop of gloom and darkness set by the music. And yet, I can’t give her all the credit, as guitarist Etienne Flinn complements her with skillful riffs and obvious talent as a musician. And while the duo has been together since the summer of 2018, initially rehearsing and playing shows with other musicians, they have tightened their musical relationship as their style develops and evolves as a result of the pandemic and collective resentment that prevails in Canada and around the world.
The album, marked by lengthy, yet focused compositions, delves into raw emotions of resentment and sadness, offering a darker and more introspective take on gothic metal. It begins with Initiation and is followed by Of Creeping Moss and Crumbled Stone. Both of these compositions are heavily-laden with dark emotion, painting pictures of places far away and long forgotten. The latter track is, perhaps, paid an epilogue with the final track The Path, a 12-minute journey of soul searching where light at the end of the tunnel may or may not appear. The lyrics on every track, in fact, touch on themes of depression, fear, and eternity, creating a compelling oeuvre of despair and misery that combines diverse arrangements, strong song writing, and vivid imagery. Take Without Answer, for example, which is, in my opinion, the darkest song on the album, with contrasts and juxtapositions between nature and broken human spirits. But please, don’t let the words I write discourage you. The Weight of Remembrance is packed with beautiful melodies and rhythms that are at many moments uplifting, yet inevitably capable of annihilation and tearing down of the human soul and existence. This is doom metal at its finest, with influences like Black Sabbath and My Dying Bride as well as elements of stoner doom, but definitely atmospheric and ambient with strong originality in style.
And so, as the uncertainty and fear of 2024 looms ahead of us, I press repeat and listen again from the beginning. The Weight of Remembrance is a stunning debut that will appeal to those who are inclined to depression and anxiety and seek solace in the shadows. The hangover of 2023 may take a while to cure, but my misery at least has company.
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