[Photo Credit: Sav Bagshaw]
Vancouver, British Columbia-based orchestral doom quintet TRIBUNAL returns with their second album, In Penitence And Ruin, an elegy most grievous and forlorn, descending deeper into the solemn abyss of woe.
2023’s The Weight Of Remembrance debut set a high bar for the Canadians becoming one of the year’s most notable and praised doom releases, leading Decibel Magazine to include the incoming record in their annual list of most anticipated releases for 2025. The band has taken their time and crafted an opus of enormous scope to echo evermore through halls long abandoned.
Conjured by TRIBUNAL’s new form as a fully fleshed-out quintet, In Penitence And Ruin has a wider lens of cohesion and maturity weaving together the widow’s wail of doleful strings, chilling keys, and percussion that tolls like the iron bell of fate. These elements ornament the monolithic foundation of crushing dirge and funereal melodies hewn from the marrow of sorrow itself. A conceptual piece, the songs form a cycle that ruminates on justice and punishment, centering on a guilty Penitent who cannot escape what they have done. The duality between the wistful, impassioned singing of Soren Mourne and agonized growls from Etienne Flinn bind with resolute tread and stride forth into darkness, traversing a path lit only by the pale glow of distant lament.
TRIBUNAL hath wrought a requiem most dire, where beauty and ruin become one and in doing have forged a second album beyond expectations, bold in its exploration of timeless human flaws and eminently listenable as a scripture of loss. Like ivy upon the tombstone, In Penitence And Ruin winds slowly but inexorably towards spectral grandeur and eternal oblivion. A must-hear album for those who worship the work of Candlemass, Blood Ceremony, My Dying Bride, Draconian, Woods Of Ypres, Theatre Of Tragedy, and Jex Thoth.
With additional vocals performed by Rory Say, In Penitence And Ruin was produced by TRIBUNAL and Jesse Gander at Rain City Recorders who also recorded the drums and mixed the album. The songs were then mastered by Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios. The cover painting and lettering were crafted by the band’s own Soren Mourne, and the album is completed with layout by Chimere Noire and photography by Sav Bagshaw.
The band writes with the album’s lead single, “‘Armoured In Shadow’ is a raw expression of the wounds left behind by what the Penitent has done and the world-shattering power of trauma. The sound of the song lies at the heart of our influences, with both epic doom leads and mournful death riffs blending under soaring cleans and anguished screams, culminating in possibly the most heartbreaking and hard-hitting chorus of the album.”
TRIBUNAL’s In Penitence And Ruin track ‘Armoured In Shadow’ is now streaming everywhere including YouTube and Bandcamp
In Penitence And Ruin will be released April 18th on LP, CD, MC, and digital formats. Preorders and merch have been posted at the 20 Buck Spin webshop and Bandcamp
In Penitence And Ruin Tracklisting:
- Incarnadine
- A Wound Unhealing
- Angel Of Mercy
- The Sword Of The Slain
- Ruin
- The Penitent
- Armoured In Shadow
- …And The Thorn-Choked Flowers Grow
- Between The Sea And Stars
Following a pair of North American tours with Mares Of Thrace, including festival performances and more over the past couple of years, TRIBUNAL is booking new live dates in support of the new album, with several Spring shows booked in British Columbia and Washington including a set at Northwest Terror Fest alongside Agalloch, Demolition Hammer, Gorguts, Panopticon, labelmates Witch Vomit and Gravesend, and many others. Expect more widespread touring and more live news to be announced throughout the year.
TRIBUNAL Live:
4/04/2025 Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC w/ Deathchant, R.I.P., Killer Deal
5/02/2025 Phoenix Bar – Victoria, BC
5/10/2025 Northwest Terror Fest @ Neumos & Barboza – Seattle, WA
5/11/2025 The Shakedown – Bellingham, WA
TRIBUNAL:
Soren Mourne – bass, cello, vocals
Etienne Flinn – guitar, vocals
Jessica Yang – guitar
Dallas Alice – keys
Julia Geaman – drums