DELIVERANCE

The Pain Others See in Me is one way to describe how I feel about this album right after Blackwater Park and right before Damnation. This is probobly their worst album other than possibly Morningrise which I just cant get into. I understand that they were having issues with the recording studio, and there was lots of stress in trying to release this album, but it shows a lot.

Im giving this album two stars because the track Deliverance is a masterpiece track. Clocked at thirteen and a half minutes, Deliverance is a classic Opeth track simalar to material on MAYH. The song starts out blaring a guitar riff in 7/8 time which then changes to 4/4 with some growls. Then it quiets down and changes back to 7/8 for a beautiful part greeted with an acoustic guitar and some clean vocals. This part lasts a while with some pretty electric guitar melodies and some excellent drumming from Martin Lopez. Then it changes back to heavy for a long time with the patern: vocals, solo, change phrase, repeat. Then it quiets down for a shortish jazzy part. Then at the end two guitars, both playing in time are playing different rhythems together and this part repeats for about four minutes, and the song ends abruptly with a few piano chords.

Other than this song, the album is pretty horrible.

Advent is atrocious. It isnt very prog or creative, its just loud and obnoxious

A Fair Judgement is not bad. It starts a little slow with some simple piano intro, which breaks into another jazzy section and into a cool heavy section. then it repeats with a longer heavy section at the end.

For Absent Friends is pretty pointless, but its not a bad song. Just a little boring

Master's Apprentices is almost as bad as Advent, but at least there is a soft section with some cool voice overlays in the middle of the song. The drumming the guitar riff and the vocals are all very annoying in this song.

By the Pain I see in Others is okay. It's simmalar to Deliverance in song Structure, but less soft parts, and an unnessisary two minutes of silence at the end.

Opeth's sixth album is fairly disappointing. Once again Deliveranceis surrounded by such excellent offerings such as Blackwater Park and Damnation, the six track, sixty-one minute record is a little on the chaotic and side as it doesn't live up to the song writing standards the Swedish band has built up. The music is itself is decent, (but much below Opeth standards) the transitions between separate musical pieces are performed fairly well, the individual performances (especially the vocals) are well done. But the brutal and unessesary pieces featured on Deliverance just totally fails at expressing the emotions intended. Some of the songs found on Deliverance also sounds a good five to seven minutes longer than it should doesn't exactly help its case. Opeth may write beautiful, complex music which transcends the average music fan's music understanding. But that just might be the problem with a record like Deliverance or Morningrise. It all just sounds too ambitious and pretentious, leaving the band's progressive intentions fairly unenjoyable. Deliverance isn't necessarily a bad album, but Opeth can do WAY better.