1) A doom meta… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least three bands with the name Penance:
1) A doom metal band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
2) Band from London.
3) A punk band from Perth, Western Australia
1) Penance was born from the ashes of Dream Death, when several members decided to pursue a more traditional doom direction. Dream Death existed during mid eighties and played speciphic mixture of doom, hardcore and thrash metal.
Founders of Penance were drummer Mike Smail and guitarist Terry Weston (both previously a members of Dream Death) and they were the core of the band from its early days to the disbanding. The band changed various line-ups, and one of their most notable members were Mary Bielich (Novembers Doom).
Penance's debut The Road Less Travelled was released 1992, under Lee Dorrian's label Rise Above Records. Alongside with Revelation's debut, it was a first doom metal album released on this label. They would embark on a European tour in support of doom legends Cathedral and Sleep.
Their second album, Parallel Corners, was released 1994, by the European metal label Century Media. Many fans consider this the band's best album, and it's also considered one of the classics of 90s (traditional) doom metal. On the next releases Penance adopted a slight range of psychedelic influences, but still remained fairly closed to their traditional doom roots.
Spiritualnatural (2003) would be the band's final album. They embarked on a European tour in 2004 partnered with Well of Souls and Orodruin. They split that same year. The Road Revisited was released posthumously in 2005, which is the unreleased original recorded version of the first album.
Mike Smail went on to join Internal Void and Pentagram.
2) Penance Last Rites From London: "From the ashes of a dead God, the remains of a broken society and through the fires of creation, we were formed to absolve the world of sin and usher in a new age of man.
To know our name is to know sacrifice,
for we are many, we are eternal, we are the alpha and the omega.
WE ARE PENANCE!"
www.penance-band.com
3) A punk band from Perth, Western Australia. Penance began jamming mid-2013 and have since released a 7 track demo.
Monster I've Become
Penance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Lyrics: Smail/Weston]
From the inside looking out
Distorts what I'm about
Strains from emptiness
Change to bitterness
You have turned me
I don't care now
The past is now the past
The scars inside don't heal
The pain no more can I feel
I'm callous, alone, but unafraid
For better or worse I've changed
Product of what you've taught
You'll feel the things you thought
The path I now lead
Is wrath along with greed
Represent what I resent
You are all that I despise
Feeding from what I've become
Can't stop even if I tried
Glory bound or the fool crown
It's all just the same
I thank you now you showed me how
You've made my name
The lyrics to Penance's song "Monster I've Become" delve into feelings of anger, resentment, and isolation. The singer of the song looks at themselves from the inside out and feels like their true self has been distorted by the actions of others. They have been turned into something they never wanted to be and feel helpless to change it. The scars inside don't seem to heal and the pain they feel is insurmountable.
The singer is callous and alone, having been changed for better or for worse, and this change appears to be the product of what they were taught by those who wronged them. They feel that those who hurt them will eventually experience the same pain that they do. The path that they are now on is one of wrath and greed, and they represent everything that they resent.
Despite this, the singer acknowledges that they are unable to stop themselves from becoming this "monster" that they've become. They blame those who have hurt them and fed into their anger for their current state. In the end, the singer thanks those who have shown them how to become this monster and make a name for themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
From the inside looking out
The singer is examining themselves from an internal perspective
Distorts what I'm about
The internal perspective distorts the singer's sense of identity
Strains from emptiness
The singer is struggling with feelings of emptiness and isolation
Change to bitterness
These feelings are leading the artist towards bitterness and anger
You have turned me
The artist blames someone else for their current state
To what you thought I was
The other person's misconceptions have influenced the singer's identity
I don't care now
The singer has given up caring about what others think
The past is now the past
The artist has moved on from previous events
The scars inside don't heal
Emotional wounds don't heal as easily as physical ones
The pain no more can I feel
The artist has become numb to feelings of pain and sadness
I'm callous, alone, but unafraid
The singer has become hardened and self-reliant
For better or worse I've changed
The artist recognizes that they have changed, regardless of whether it is for better or worse
Product of what you've taught
The singer blames their current state on what they were taught by others
You'll feel the things you thought
The other person will experience the consequences of their misconceptions
The path I now lead
The singer has chosen a new direction for their life
Is wrath along with greed
The new direction is characterized by anger and a desire for material wealth
Represent what I resent
The artist's new identity is a response to things they resent
You are all that I despise
The other person embodies the things the singer dislikes
Feeding from what I've become
The singer is now drawing strength from their own identity and experiences
Can't stop even if I tried
The artist is committed to their new path, despite any reservations they may have
Glory bound or the fool crown
The artist will either achieve great success or suffer a great downfall
It's all just the same
Either outcome is ultimately insignificant and meaningless
I thank you now you showed me how
The singer thanks the other person for inadvertently teaching them a lesson
You've made my name
The other person's misconceptions and influence have helped shape the artist's identity
Contributed by Mila I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.