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.
Words Not Deeds
Penance Lyrics
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[Lyrics: Smail]
What is real and what is fantasy
Are you who you are or what you want to be
Your kind breeds conceit
Fact and fiction conceived
Words not deeds
A perceived perception or factual entity
All you know is who I'm supposed to be
Your kind breeds conceit
Fact and fiction conceived
You don't know you only see
Words not deeds
Adding more fuel to the lie that you fire
I'm living the truth while you're projecting a liar
The lyrics to Penance's song Words Not Deeds speak to the idea of perception versus reality. The opening two lines present the listener with a philosophical question, asking whether one's true self is defined by what they want to be, or if it is rooted in something more tangible. The subsequent lines suggest that the listener's perception of reality may be flawed, as they only see "words not deeds." The implication is that actions speak louder than words, and that the listener is too focused on the stories they have been told rather than the reality in front of them.
The chorus adds another layer to this idea, suggesting that the listener's perception of the singer is based only on what they are supposed to be, not who they actually are. This further emphasizes the theme of perception versus reality, and the idea that others' perceptions of us are often not based on truth. The final line of the chorus is a bold statement, accusing the listener of "projecting a liar" and suggesting that they are actively contributing to the falsehoods being perpetuated.
Overall, the lyrics to Words Not Deeds encourage the listener to question the reality they perceive and to look beyond words to actions in order to truly understand those around them.
Line by Line Meaning
What is real and what is fantasy
Is the world you experience imaginary or actual?
Are you who you are or what you want to be
Do you represent your true self or your ideal self?
Your kind breeds conceit
People like you have arrogance and vanity as traits
Fact and fiction conceived
You mix reality and imagination
You don't know you only see
You lack understanding and only perceive
Words not deeds
You only talk but never act
A perceived perception or factual entity
Is your judgement based on illusion or actuality?
All you know is who I'm supposed to be
You have no real knowledge of me, just what you assume
Adding more fuel to the lie that you fire
You are making the falsehood you promote even stronger
I'm living the truth while you're projecting a liar
I am honest while you are imagining lies about me
Contributed by Emily O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.