Review by Denis on February 22, 2003.

This is the Penance debut album, “Alpha & Omega,” with their new label, Martyr Music Group, but since then they have been around for quite a while (mid 80s) and have gained notoriety, and their "Parallel Corners" release in 1994 on Century Media is testament to this and was further declared one of the five top ‘post-Sabbath’ albums. Penance is considered as being among the founding bands of the stoner rock movement.

Although I've heard the term before, I’ve never actually been exposed to much stoner rock before. So this is what it sounds like: heavy, loud, nostalgic metal, mostly played at a mid-tempo. At times it sounds like Jimmy Hendrix and other times like the song 'Mississippi Queen' from Kansas (or perhaps it was from another band). Another point of reference could be Black Sabbath’s 'Sweet Leaves' from "Master of Reality" for the massive walls of guitar and bass parts that can be found throughout the album. The mood is really dark and kind of bluesy too. The singer has a medium high tone and sings in the standard clean/scream parallel. Many guitar solos are included and you'll get more than one per song. The pace varies also and usually the compositions won't stay the same from beginning to end. The only exception may be the calmer 'Drown Me in a Sea of Empty' which remains calm and melodic all along but is blessed by nice guitar notes and backed with acoustic parts. The solos are perhaps not as great as Hendrix but are interesting with wha-wha pedals, like on the track 'Reaching,’ which is one of my favorites, especially for the sound being loud and clear. 'Cold' is another good number for its great slow doom type of mood.

Bottom Line: A pretty good metal album with a nostalgic feel.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7.5
Originality: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by JD on August 18, 2010.

Canada is getting known for it’s heavier metal with every passing day. Take it from this Canadian Rocker who has seen the rise of his country’s metal scene. They are coming into it’s own and showing the world, learning from others and then fashioning it into their own warped yet infection brand of Metal. They are taking over piece by piece. With that been said, please take note of Edmonton Alberta Canada’s Death Metal Masters - Death Toll Rising.

All through the forty three minutes of the album, it is clear what Death Toll Rising are doing. I hear shading of the likes of Death and Obituary mixing with a this injection of Thrash inspired melodies and bad to the core, gut-wrenching growling vocals and ground shaking drumming. The clear thread through it all is awe inspiring power that is hard to ignore for very long.

Songs like the commanding 'Blood Stained Ceilings' and the monumental paroxysm of 'The Bludgeoning' are prime examples of the band sheer potency they already have. The are working to be original, but for a young band like this... that is expected. It is not a bad thing to sound like the ones that are your contemporaries, but it is good that it is very clear that they are striving to make their own way under their own terms.

Death Toll Rising is a band on the verge of having the world seeing them. A little work on their music will poise them for metal supremacy. As they are right now, they are missing the pinnacle they are seeking by a hairbreadth from their goals. If their next album has that certain level of maturity and growth that I hear is needed (I feel that they will have without a doubt), they will finally have become a band that will have no boundaries that could hold them down.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality:7.5
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.1 out of 10