Tithe – Penance (No One Will Like You Metal)

 

At first I was getting annoyed by all the Jef Whitehead covers I was seeing in 43% of the promos I’ve had come in (that’s exact math) and then I scoped this one and was like “okay, I get it.” What a perfect arrangement! And what a great example of how cover art can not only accent what music lies therein, but how it can exemplify it. Like any band I consider good enough to review, which you should know by now is very few, Portland, Oregon’s Tithe melt so many genres together the vain efforts made by some to define them is completely without merit. You can just stop reading those sites and read this one. I’m telling you, I sort through the chaff so you don’t have to. So let’s just jump right into Penance since that’s been done.

   

I usually avoid reviews after release these days because promotion works better before something drops, but Tithe is a rare exception. Also I for some reason don’t seem to have received it… Anyway, if the fact that the vinyl’s sold out after only two weeks doesn’t tell you something, then I will get ready to suck it. Penance made me feel thoroughly warm inside. It’s got something for everyone who’s angry and if not it will make you so, maybe even without something to even be angry at; you’ll simply rage at nothing in particular. Echoing, riot-inducing vocals, powerviolence licks out of grind storms, and a curious selection of samples that are both callous and comic, it’s a “seen it all” critic’s deathbed wish. You put this one on full blast at your house and no one is going to come in, ever. Just leave it on loop for awhile if you want the world to abandon you for once.

 

Tithe Official Facebook

Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Tithe – Penance
Tartarus Records
Cover Art: Jef Whitehead
4.8 / 5