Heavy Song of the Week is a new feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week the honor goes to Tribulation’s “Axis Mundi.”
New Tribulation is always a cause for celebration. The Swedish metallers tend to take their sweet time between releases, and after a quiet 2022, they’re set to return with a four-song EP, Harmatia, on April 7th.
“Axis Mundi” is the second single from the EP and a delightful romp through the various styles of metal in Tribulation’s musical lexicon. The central riff has an almost Southern Mastodon/Baroness bite to it, while the forward motion and triumphant lead work — a Tribulation staple — are pure power metal. Toss in the growled death metal vocals and a sharply written prog-ish arrangement, and you’ve got what can only be described as a Tribulation song — too idiosyncratic for rote categorization.
Commented Guitarist Adam Zaars via a press statement: “Being the first composition by [guitarist] Joseph Tholl, [“Axis Mundi”] offers the listener and the viewer a new set of flavors and hues to the palate, and from the palette that constitutes the egregore that is Tribulation. A new year calls for a fresh start, so please consider making this a part of the soundtrack to yours.”
— Jon Hadusek,
Senior Staff Writer