DELIVERANCE

As the heaviest of the Steven Wilson produced albums, 'Deliverence' showed Opeth's more primal, heavy side as opposed to the emotive rock leanings 'Damnation' would aim for. While the album may have been inconsistent in terms of the song qualities, there would be three songs from the album that would really stand out to me. This title track is one of them (along with 'Wreath' and 'A Fair Judgement,' for those wondering) and while it may not have the subtle dynamics of the other 'masterpiece' Opeth tracks, 'Deliverence' blew me away with it's furious percussions, tasteful riffage and some of the most brutal vocals frontman Mikael Akerfeldt has ever done. To top this all off, the last four minutes of the original track comprised one of the most majestic outros I have ever heard in a song.

While this 'radio' edit certainly robs the track of alot of it's magic, you can still get a good idea of the power and intensity the band was driving at when making this song. There is no more majestic outro to speak of, but the track instead focuses on the more song-based elements of the track rather than the 'epic' feel of the full thirteen minutes.

Fans of death metal or other heavy forms of music may very well take a liking to this music; however much better things await a prospective listener on the actual album of the same name.