Tribulation recently released their new album Where The Sound Become Gloom, which was their final effort with guitarist and songwriter Jonathan Hultén. Hultén quit the band in 2020 and has since been replaced by band friend and guitarist Joseph Tholl, who fellow guitarist Adam Zaars said in an interview with MetalSucks basically saved the band from ending.
"At first when [Hultén] told us, we weren’t even sure, or I wasn’t even sure at least, that I wanted to continue because he’s been such a big part of the band from the beginning. But then, if Joseph, our new guitar player, hadn’t said ‘yes,’ I don’t think we would have continued. Jonathan suggested Joseph, we had been talking about Joseph in the past, if this was ever going to happen. Luckily he wanted to join.
"We’ve all known him — well, me and Johannes [Andersson, vocals/bass] at least — since we were kids. I had my first band with him when we were 13. We’ve been playing a lot throughout the years. We all admired his songwriting, Jonathan as well, and he knows the band. Both the band and the music, he knows what we’re about."
Zaars added he wants to begin working on new material with Tholl, and that he feels enthusiastic about the band's future.
"At the moment I’m not really worried about it. I’m more enthusiastic about it to be honest. Not that Jonathan is not there, but that I think we can create something new and fresh and something that’s still very much Tribulation. That’s kind of what I want to do now. It feels bizarre in a way that the album is not out yet because this has been the longest year in history. It already feels like old news, at least to me.
"Because of all of this with Jonathan and Joseph. But I what I kind of want to do now is just start writing some new material. We will hopefully get the chance to play these songs live before that happens. I mean, we might start, but we’ll see what happens. I’m looking forward to it at least."
Listen to the full interview below:
