Live Review: Tribulation at The Underworld, Camden (19/02/2025)

Swedish gothic metallers, Tribulation, hit The Underworld Camden on their Sub Rosa European tour with support from Livgone and Naut.

Tribulation released their most recent album, their 6th full length titled Sub Rosa In Æternum late in 2024 and are now out on the road in support of that album with their Sub Rosa European Tour. The death metal/gothic metal band have been around for a very long time, plying their trade from back in 2005 and it has been a while since i have seen them so I am looking forward to this. I can’t really think of may better venues for their gloomy sound either than The Underworld in Camden. Surely a match made in Heaven, or Hell. In support of Tribulation, we have two bands that I haven’t seen before.

We have doom metal newcomers, Livgone who released their debut album, Almost There, in 2024 and we have Naut, the Bristol based dark post punk band that wowed everyone with their debut release Hunt from back in 2023.

I made good time in getting there (thank you, Elizabeth Line), so arrived just after doors and before Naut took to the stage. They came on at 19:30 to a reasonable crowd. It’s a long way from being full, with maybe 50 to 70 people there at the start but it is enough to fill out a portion of the floor. The scene gets set before the band take to the stage with electronic ambient backing music and a gloomy stage filled with smoke. At this point, I have no idea what I am about to hear, going purely off what I read about them where they were classified as dark post punk. I am not good with genres. I don’t know really what that means but I do know that what Naut delivered was not what I expected.

An extended gothic instrumental gets things going and it’s catchy as hell. I notice there are no drums, just a drum machine but they have the machine on stage with them and the vocalist occasionally turns to it and programs the drums, or at least adds to the drums while they are playing. There are keyboards, and plenty of samples as well as some of those old fashioned instruments known as guitars. The frontman is very active, constantly pacing and wearing a shirt that screams gothic. The vocals are predominantly clean and smooth, in a gothic style. The music though, when it gets going is rocking and it’s hard not to move or sway or dance to.

More latecomers have helped pack the crowd a little more as Naut play songs like Dissent, and Nightfall from their album Hunt. I remember thinking that I felt a little bit like I was in that movie, Queen of the Damned. The music, The Underworld, the 70’s and 80’s keys and synth, the smoke – it all created this cool gothic vampire scene, at least to me. I really enjoyed Naut. they were different to anything I normally listen to and while a little bit of crowd interaction would have been nice, that sort of stagecraft will come with experience.

Next up we have another first for me, with the doom categorised band Livgone. The smoke clears and we have atmospheric blue lights now setting a cold scene. The venue has also filled out more but at least some of that is people coming now for Tribulation based on the tops they are wearing and the bodies at the merch tables. I was impressed with the quick turnaround too. 15 minutes between the first two bands is good going. Livgone start very patiently with just some ambient noise and effects as the band stand shadowed in darkness backed by those blue lights. It looks cool.

The singer sings clean vocals and plays keys, with an almost folk vibe at the start but the drums, riffs and bass soon come crunching in and it hits hard yet with atmosphere and feeling. The doom is there, I mean the pound on those drums and bass is shaking the whole room. Lead guitars rip through melody and solos while the singer head bangs alongside the drummer at the back. This is really cool, and even more interesting when the band switch back with the clean, ethereal vocal style and keys. This switch back and forth is a big part of Livgone I see from tonight. There are moments when vocals are sung along with the heavy music as well, of course, but that caused some issues as they were often drowned out completely.

Maybe that is their aim though, so the vocals are in the mix, not at the front. Either way, at times I could see her mouth moving but now sounds were coming out as the guitars and drums battered the floor. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster in energy and styles in an exciting way. The overall theme is fitting of the bill as even in it’s heaviest, or cleanest parts, it still has a general feeling of melancholy and gloom but the balancing between clean and heavy, dark and light is masterful really. Songs from their debut album, Almost There, are obviously what make up the set list.

Walk to Derealization is a banger, as is the song There in an all together very professional and intriguing performance. There is a lot more to come from these guys, you feel. Again, maybe it lends itself to the style but without a single moment of interaction, and barely a smile and a nod at the end, Livgone are gone. Very mysterious, but they made an impression.

To the main event though, and the reason a lot of people are here based on the large number of arrivals coming just at this time and we have the mighty Tribulation. These guys are experienced and you feel that from the second they prepare to take the stage after the lights go down, turn to green and we get an overly extended intro that turns into the song The Unrelenting Choir, from the latest album, and focus of this tour then straight into Tainted Skies from the same album. Tribulation are flowing now, making use of all of their back catalogue with songs from Down Below like Nightbound, and Lament. Hamartia, from the EP of the same name and Suspiria from their The Formulas of Death album.

They have a back catalogue, and they use it fully while still getting through a lot of Sub Rosa In Æternum and they sound absolutely immense. You are talking atmospheric, heavy, melancholic perfection. Vocals are superb, the drums and ass work pound you and the guitars are sublime. This is a band of expertise, with experience who are in the zone and under their gothic makeup, you can see they are having fun and enjoying themselves.

Frontman Johannes Andersson gives a bit of a “here’s how to be a front person of a band” lesson. The crowd interaction is engaging, endearing and occasionally funny. I love how they got the first song or two out of the way then excitedly shout down the mic “Good evening and welcome to the show”. The jokes about normally being a support band so only getting to play 3 or 4 songs and how cool it was to finally be able to play a full set.

The constant movement, pointing to the crowd, keeping their eyes transfixed on you at all times. It was impressive. Musically, it is so brilliantly odd at times. It’s heavy, and loud and the vocals are snarling yet there is cleanness to it and occasionally, musically falls into to rock, or even country moments before suddenly switching to death metal again. The sound is really full, deep and rich. You feel 100% engaged throughout all of their songs, and styles. I thought Tribulation were awesome – supremely impressive and professional, with heart and feeling. As they played a fair few of my favourite tracks too, so I was very pleased with Lacrimosa and Saturn Coming Down really getting the juices flowing.

It surprises me a bit how a band of such experience and talent haven’t ever really pushed on to bigger venues than this. I mean, I can see by the fact that The Underworld is only around 70 or 80% full why they are here and not across the road at the Ballroom or something, but they are so good at what they do, you feel they deserve at least a sold out show here. Still, I’m not complaining. I had a blast thanks to three great bands that were all very different, yet run with a common thread of melancholy and gloom joining them together to create a night of immense atmospheric music.