Penance - The Road Revisited review
| Band: | Penance |
| Album: | The Road Revisited |
| Style: | Doom metal |
| Release date: | 2005 |
| A review by: | Lucas |
01. Eulogy (Intro)
02. The Unseen
03. A Wayfarer's Tale
04. If They Would Cut My Throat Out...
05. Misgivings
06. Soul Rot
07. Not What It Seems
08. Penance
Label: PsycheDOOMelic Records
Website: http://www.psycheDOOMelic.com
Penance's "The Road Revisited" is actually nothing more than the debut (The Road Less Travelled, 1992) re-recorded. Although, re-recorded.. Apparently they recorded that debut album twice and released only one version, and more than a decade later they decided to release the other one as well. Why somebody wants to do such a thing is completely beyond me, but let's just forget about that.
As most Doom Metal bands the biggest inspiration is good ol' Sabbath. "The Road Revisited" has a similar feeling as the self-titled début album of the Birmingham bunch. Especially the lead heavy riffs and the slow-paced, monstrous bass have the same dark touch as that particular album. Brian Lawrence's vocals are done in a slightly distorted fashion, slow and sometimes more spoken than sung.
The downside of this album is that not all of the riffs are really that good. Most of them are repeated over and over again, so they have to have that special thing which keeps them interesting. With some of them this just isn't the case, creating some rather boring parts. In particular towards the end listening to it through can become a bit of a drag.
If you are looking for the best Penance album, look elsewhere. This début/swansong is only an addition to the collection of the hardcore Penance/Doom fans. I personally expected more than this, mostly because the beginning is rather promising and entertaining. They just forgot to keep up the songwriting with the album's progress.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 6 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 7 |
 | Written on 06.02.2008 by If you're interested in extreme, often emotional and underground music, check out my reviews. I retired from reviewing, but I really used to be into that stuff. |
Comments
Comments: 13
Visited by: 61 users
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
I actually loved this album to bits. Having heard the version that was released earlier I gotta say I prefer the rawer production which was used on this one. But I can understand people being disappointed by it (like you are to a lesser extent) And yes it is only strongly recommended to hardcore Penance/doom fans. IMO this release is very hard to get into when you're not one of those/
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=26778] on 07.02.2008 at 22:37 THIS WASN'T a cult release from the ealry 90s, this IS a release from 2007 but recorded but NEVER released in the early 90s.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=26778] on 07.02.2008 at 23:18 it's not really the same album since it sounds totally different  Although I really love it too, and would have rated it higher I also think that a 6.7 is a fair mark (since it is still quite a decent mark) this album is really hard for normal casual doom listeners somehow and I know a lot of experienced dom listeners/lovers who would totally agree with Nervel's rating. You and I are probably fanboys when it comes to Penance and will therefore rate it way hgher and more subjectively  But even the first version was never a true cult classic either, just about 10 people regard it a classic I guess 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Lucas Mr. Noise Elite Posts: 13427  |
Written by [user id=26778] on 07.02.2008 at 22:37 Hmm, the first time I get a negative response for a review.  Was wondering when it would come.Anyway, Venom is classic too, and they suck. Just because something is a 'milestone', doesn't mean I instantly have to like it. as I said, I thought it started out good, but just really went downhill after that. EDIT: Oh yeah, and as Marcel pointed out, a 6.7 isnt really that bad. Its pretty much due to either the Dutch schoolsystem (in which a 5.5 is "pass") or the overall inflation of the rates on the internet. Seriously, take a MA review, and detract about 20 points from the rating. That should give you an idea. The same thing goes for MS, except a bit less extreme.
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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| Raiden Down Under Staff Elite Posts: 8292  |
I'd been meaning to check out Penance for reasons I can't remember, but I forgot to. Now I see they've been reviewed. Well I dunno, I might see if I can view it through Marcel goggles, but maybe a Nervel taint will appear. We shall see! By the way, why is everyone saying it was released in 2007 if we've got it down as 2005?
---- "Scream for me Melbourne!!!!" - Bruce Dickinson "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin (while in orbit, 1961)
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Raiden on 08.02.2008 at 05:05 Oops, you'r eright. I think the reason I said 2007 is cause I bought it in 2007. I don't know why Severed Survival says 2007, maybe because I stated that year?
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Raiden Down Under Staff Elite Posts: 8292 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.02.2008 at 16:37 Haha, you sowed the idea in his head! So the older version is cleaner then is it?
---- "Scream for me Melbourne!!!!" - Bruce Dickinson "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin (while in orbit, 1961)
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Raiden on 08.02.2008 at 17:02 The one released by Rise Above records (yes, the label of Lee Dorian of Cathedral) is cleaner, plus is about 2 minutes shorter, so the versions of thye songs on it are also slightly differen.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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