Tithe - Penance

This review is full of shit.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 20th 2024) 

While the title might make you think I am about to offer very little insight into Tithe’s debut effort, Penance, it’s more about the trio’s irreverence towards this text than anything else. As the group says on “Apostasy”, “the critics are full of shit”, a stance that in and of itself challenges the existence of this review. How do you cover something that outright rejects any opinion one might form about it? All things considered, it’s not even a particularly original stance to have in the context of heavy music, many a band have said they don’t aim for mainstream appeal and want to stay underground, but few are as forward about it. Nevertheless, the purpose of this text isn’t to philosophise about the concept of reviewing music, not to mention the band themselves said that they too are full of shit, thus enabling me to write with impunity.
Tithe’s mix of sounds is surprisingly eclectic, and in theory an impossible one, because after all, how are you supposed to combine death metal, doom metal and grindcore and make it coherent? Against all odds though, they make it work, even if it turns out to be a little too erratic and scatterbrained at times. The introductory tremolo riffing of “A Single Rose” is a bold mission statement, especially with how it crashes into an absolutely bone-shattering mid-tempo passage immediately after. Moments like these are the band’s bread and butter, as seen with the tightly wound section on “Mantra”, a tune that feels like a spring under so much tension that it’s about to snap at the drop of a hat, which it eventually does, or the devastating drumming on “Palindrome” and “Psychedelic Neurogenesis”, where the grind influence comes to the forefront.
The aforementioned doom influence brings along with it a surprising amount of dissonant melody as well, through the usage of arpeggios that punctuate the moments of swirling chaos, or at other times further add to them. “Scum” in particular features a very sparse, yet effective melody near its end, further accentuated by some neat bass licks, of which unfortunately there aren’t many, seeing as the production is decidedly dingy. The bass is buried, the guitars are slinky, and the drums are surprisingly understated, yet at the same time textured. That being said, it makes the atmosphere more potent, especially with how there’s a touch of reverb applied on everything, bringing the most out of the pounding chords seen on “Apostasy” and the monolithic closer, “Lullaby”, which also features some really moody samples.
For how nicely these styles come together on every track here, the previously mentioned erratic nature of the album turns out to be its Achilles’ heel. Tithe doesn’t like lingering on one singular idea for long, nor reuse it much, leading to songs that outside of their general feel go in one ear and out the other. Even after repeat listens I find myself struggling to remember moments outside of the slower bits on display. Their approach to extremity is a very unique one, but it makes for mood-based listening more than anything, and there are times where this album will suck you in a world as vivid and swirling as its cover, and others it’ll be similar to white noise.
At the end of the day, Penance’s disdain towards being put in a box is admirable, and it shows not only through the music itself being near-impregnable to all but the most patient of listeners, but also through the band’s attitude regarding anyone who might put their ears to it. Tithe’s sound is a unique one, and it definitely warrants at the very least a cursory listen, but its effectiveness varies wildly. It’ll either absorb you and take you for a wild ride, or it will pass you by as a barrage of noise that is too unfocused for its own good. Both of these are emotions I felt during my preparation for this review, and for that reason I implore you to ignore the numerical rating and give it a listen for yourselves.
Highlights: A Single Rose, Apostasy, Lullaby

Rating: 73% 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more