Penance - Spiritualnatural (2003)

Posted By : lom404 | Date : 21 Mar 2010 05:13:42 | Comments : 0 |

“

Spiritualnatural is the great leveler, the balance between the uncompromising doom metal of '99's Proving Ground and the pure rock n' roll aesthetic of Alpha & Omega. Spiritualnatural is decidedly more uptempo than the first, but leans more on the side of minor-chord mayhem than the latter. Listening to songs like "Regret", "Gemini" and "The Innocent", I can't help but think the band soaked in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Troubles' self-titled on a regular basis, capturing not only Iommi's and Franklin/Wartell's riff-generating genius but the diversity expressed in those albums as well - Penance being inspired to add culturally diverse folk elements not often captured in a traditional doom release such as bagpipes on "The River Ara" and mandolin on "Iron Curtain Blues". All to great effect.

While we won't get anything quite as emotionally draining as "Drown Me in a Sea of Empty" off of Alpha & Omega on this one, vocalist Brian "Butch" Balich continues to write some of the best lyrics in the biz. The reason? The man is direct, he writes from the gut and doesn't drench his words in obscure metaphor. It's the everyday struggles and wonders we all go through.... guilt, regret, depression, what's beyond this life. He speaks to the everyman. And what a fuckin' voice on that guy... "Leather Lungs" Balich.

Penance is in top form here and one can't help but wonder if the addition of ex-November's Doom bassist Mary Bielich and ex-Wickerman guitarist Matt Tuite to the band in 2000 gave the band a creative goose. If a band gets one great album in their career, that's luck, hard work and talent. More than one, that's genius. by Chris Barnes

”

Butch Balich (vocals) [Argus]
Mary Bielich (bass) [Em Sinfonia, Mythic, Novembers Doom, Derkéta, Behind Enemy Lines, Slag-9, Wormhole, Master Mechanic]
Matt Tuite (guitar) [Behind Enemy Lines]
Mike Smail (drums) [Dream Death, Cathedral, Pentagram, Internal Void]
Dave Roman (guitar)
Guests:
Terry Weston: Rhythm Guitar on tracks 2,4,6,7
Derek Smith: Bagpipes
Milt Summers: Mandolin
Kambala: Percussion
Pete McGillicutty: Arp

1 Gemini 5:29
2 The Innocent 5:50
3 The River Ara 3:08
4 Regret 5:31
5 Casting Long Shadows 4:02
6 Longsuffering 5:18
7 Lost My Way 7:25
8 Iron Curtain Blues 4:33
9 All Is Vanity 6:07
10 Spiritualnatural 11:17
11 Starshine/Dawn of a New Day 10:47

Recorded at Polar Bear Lair, MD. 2002/03
Produced by Penance
Engineered/Mastered by Chris "Kozwald" Kozlowski

EAC LOG

Download:
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6
pw: pigandpepper

No Mirrors

Penance - Alpha and Omega (2001)
Penance - Proving Ground (1999)
Penance - Parallel Corners (1994)
Penance - The Road Less Travelled [Vinyl rip 44 100 Hz/16 Bit] (1992)