DELIVERANCE

Deliverance is a decent album, with one major failing in my opinion: the first 30 seconds are way too heavy. Most people consider this to be Opeth's heaviest album. While that may be true, I sincerely believe that it's not as heavy as it seems. It's just that the first 30 seconds is so shocking to the senses that it's difficult to shake that sensation off for the next 60 minutes.

The opening track is "Wreath". From the opening second, this song is brutally dark and brutally hard. Akerfeldt's growls are even more sinister here than they usually are (if possible). If I had to categorize this song, it would be difficult as it is a mixture of both Death Metal and Speed Metal. By making this song the first thing you hear on this album, it sets somewhat of a dark tone which unfairly taints the rest of the album. As it is, this album seems so stinkin' hard, that I just can't find the desire to give it a listen unless I want to feel beat up.

Okay, so that's the major flaw as I see it. The rest of the album is actually quite good. "Deliverance" is much easier on the ears as Akerfeldt mixes in some of his mellow vocals along with the growls for a more typical Opeth song. Now don't get me wrong, "Deliverance" packs plenty of punch. It just seems almost mellow following in the aftershock of "Wreath."

"A Fair Judgment" is next and is a wonderful change of pace. It is silky smooth as Akerfeldt once again amazes with his clean vocals. "For Absent Friends" is an instrumental which continues the mellow moment a bit longer.

"Master's Apprentices" and "By the Pain I See In Others" are the final two songs. Both are strong efforts with lots of stunning guitar moments. Akerfeldt spends most of his vocal time here growling. Inexplicably, the final song falls prey to another one of my pet peeves: a long drawn out period of silence followed by random noises to end the album. For whatever reason, this seems to happen on a number of albums (Pain of Salvation's One Hour and Be albums immediately come to mind as examples of this.) I'm sure there is some artistic point that the band is wanting to make with these soundless passages, but it certainly escapes me. I listen to music to...listen to music! (strange, huh?) If I wanted to listen to quietness, I wouldn't be listening to Opeth, that's for sure.