DELIVERANCE

To be honest, I can understand why most reviewers would think that this isn't a great Opeth album...although I'd be kidding myself if I actually thought that. While this is probably Opeth's heaviest album to date, it's still one of their best. The riffs on this album are some of the catchiest they've ever written, Mikael's soloing is at the top of its game, and then we have one of the best songs the band has ever written in the title track. So no, I don't really understand why this album is rated so low. The production quality is still excellent thanks to the magical fairy behind the scenes named Steven Wilson. I really can't find any subpar in this album even if I tried, and I try to be as objective in my reviews as I can anyway, even if it is from one of my favorite bands. Granted this is the heaviest Opeth album to date, so that could be part of the reason. But even then, this is an album that still has a lot of superb moments, especially as I mentioned in the album's title track. That's a song where I often get certain parts of it stuck in my head, even when I'm not listening to music. The solos and the drum section at the end of it are probably my favorite parts of that song, which is definitely the standout track on here. A Fair Judgment, as pointed out by someone else, has a great solo from the 6:20-6:50 range or thereabouts. Master's Apprentice is a great example of how heavy this album gets and For Absent Friends is a very beautiful interlude.

Overall, and in spite of my rambling, this is a highly underrated album, although I would NOT recommend this album to someone new to Opeth. Purchase some of their more acclaimed releases first, such as Still Life, Blackwater Park, and Ghost Reveries before seeking this album out. While I probably couldn't recommend this to everyone, Deliverance is such a masterful piece of art that I can't imagine giving it anything other than 5 stars. A very open mind is required for this Opeth release.

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