DELIVERANCE

Deliverance came out with Damnation, and though the name might suggest otherwise, it is the former that is the heavier of the two. And by heavier, we mean, tons heavier. This album is considered by many to be less good than Opeth's other releases, and though it certainly is not my favourite, it is not at the bottom of the list anyway. Deliverance is probably the heaviest release till now (Ghost Reveries), and the raw songwriting could have put off several listeners. Here go the track reviews:

1. Wreath: Heavy as hell from the beginning, the intro does not strike me as one of their memorable ones. Then the panned leads kick in and we breathe a sigh of relief. It's still Opeth. This is confirmed with the break at about 1:45, where we get nicely harmonized distorted guitars that sound very bleak. The smooth sound is amazing as usual. There are quite some repetitions here, but the song flows nicely, making use of several atonal riffs. A nice break at around 7:40, the only really quiet part in the whole song. Then comes some desperate soloing and a good repeating melody line. There's another proggish break with a relaxed bass line at 9:50. The song ends with some heavy chugs. Overall, this is quite a static song which lacks some dynamics. [7]

2. Deliverance: The title track and highlight of the album. The intro is a progressive headbanger's dream. Fast double kick, pounding dynamic riffs and guttural growls. The intro sounds like Rush's YYZ, which was probably an inspiration for M. Akerfeldt. After the intro we are led into a warm clean bit with saintly vocals and studded with short heavy bars. These dynamics are where Opeth shines. A riff from the intro is repeated to good effect, and the drums really shine, especially since the overall setting is mostly based around rhythm. This song never grows old. The riff which starts a few seconds before the eighth minute mark cannot be more effective, even though it couldn't be simpler. This leads into a clean acoustic part which sounds very mellow and spacey. "Deliverance... thrown back at me." Mellow, yet evil. Then comes what every fan of Opeth is really waiting for. The tight syncopated riff right out of a prog metalhead's dream. This outro never ceases to cause my head to shake just a little bit. Words cannot describe the beauty of this riff, which is helped on its way out by some reversed piano chords. [9]

3. A Fair Judgement: My other album favourite. A quiet piano intro that goes into Mike's beautiful singing along some spacey guitars. This blends perfectly into a memorable heavy riff. Bass and guitars are harmonized perfectly, setting up a dark yet hopeful mood. The clean spaced guitars repeat to once again lead into the heavy riff, this time fading out into a guitar sounding right out of an old gramophone. Mike's clean singing really shines in this song, with no growling. A very bluesy solo after five minutes helps set the warm yet dark mood. Another gut wrenching riff with yet some more bluesy solos that make you think that the song is going to finish soon. In fact, some quiet piano starts playing, accompanied by Mike's voice, but... THE riff hits you in the forehead. This is one of the most memorable riffs I've heard, slow yet heavy and disturbing. The song fades out here, after more than ten minutes of epic beauty. [9]

4. For Absent Friends: A welcome break, with acoustic and clean electric playing some arpeggios and lead. Nothing much to be said here, except that it leads perfectly into Master's Apprentice, and gives us a breath of fresh air to prepare for the next round of head crunching. Well written and executed. [7+]

5. Master's Apprentice: Another memorable intro. Heavy, pounding, yet very dynamic. Morbid Angel were a big inspiration for this song, something that Opeth themselves admit. Still, Opeth's writing is completely evident here. The playing is all very dynamic. The break at about four minutes is very melodic and beautiful, leading into some spacey guitar effects over a laidback riff. Another break after five minutes, with some ambience on top and a sad distant lead set the perfect mood. You almost start to imagine yourself elsewhere, perhaps somewhere dark and bleak. The sudden heavy riff at 7:46 feels somewhat out of place, spoiling some of the mood, though this is fixed in the outro riff, another perfect harmony. [8]

6. By the Pain I See in Others: It took me a long time to get into this song, and I never have completely, anyway. The intro is cool enough, with a radioeffect riff transforming into a heavy proggish riff. The sudden change into the acoustic part at 1:20 sounds somehow forced, and I do not really like the growls on the clean bit. The heavy riff right after this is nothing memorable either. There are too many sudden changes, like the one at three minutes. This riff is quite interesting in itself, fast and heavy, but does not seem to connect well with the previous parts. Then comes a laidback bit with some lead that sounds very disturbing, melodically speaking. After that is the luna park section, which in my opinion is a very nice touch. "Outside in the park, the days move along, and nothing ever changes" fits in perfectly here. You get a weird 80's horror show feeling here. The sudden change here left me feeling that the songwriting lacks a bit, and a couple of the riffs, especially the underlying acoustic one, are not very uninteresting. A good final touch was to extend the track for a few minutes with some haunting sounds here and there, quite some time after the music has stopped. Reversing the sounds reveals a highly effected bit of the clean singing in Master's Apprentice. Haunting. [7]

It is worthwhile to mention that Andy Sneap, the sound engineer who worked on this album, received a Swedish Grammy award for mixing Deliverance. It does have the best production to date (2007) in my opinion, though some will argue that Ghost Reveries' is better. OVERALL, 7.9