DELIVERANCE

Every song on this album really has a sense of identity. This is Opeth's most experimental album thus far. "Wreath" is the album's most relentlessly heavy song. It has a really dark guitar effect in the middle of the song that sounds like winnowing winds or a bell tower ringing. "Deliverance" is also a very heavy track and a bit repetitive in the last 4 minutes, hence that, the song is magnificent and has great changes and the best transitition I've ever heard in a song from a solo to another part of the song. "A Fair Judgement" is a great piano driven song, that expresses some of Mikael's classical influences about midway through the song with a classical guitar instrumental piece, incredible. The song is the only entirely clean vocal song on the album. "For Absent Friends" is a very somber and relaxing instrumental. Perhaps my favorite Opeth instrumental behind that of "Requiem," from "Orchid." "Master's Apprentices" is one of my favorite Opeth songs, showcasing their dynamic abilities throughout. Great vocal melodies in this song and powerful guitar sections. This song has one the most serene and beautiful moments abruptly interrupted by Mikael's most sinister growls, which then the song proceeds to its peak. "By the Pain I See in Others" fluctuates quite a bit and at first listen seems to be a bit weak, but really has a lasting strenght after several listens. Great dynamics, changes, and solo's. This album definately possesses the best solo's they've ever recorded. I'm very excited to see where they'll go next after Damnation. Opeth are consitently mesmerizing and progress with each album, the future is very promising for them.

Of the OPETH albums I've heard thus far, Deliverance has been the weakest. That is not to say that it does not have its stunning moments, like any OPETH album does. The trouble is, I think there's something a bit too dry and uninspiring in the mixing that sometimes hampers this album and keeps it from being what it could perhaps be. It's a shame to dock them for these technical difficulties (which are explained in detail on the Lamentations DVD), but it does hurt the final outcome. There's that, and also the fact that it has what I consider to be a weak track: "Wreath". No other OPETH album contains a track I find so difficult excepting "The Apostle in Triumph" on their very first album. While the slower parts of "Wreath" aren't bad at all (in fact, drummer Martín López does some very interesting Asian-style drums in one of these sections) As to what it is about this track that messes it up, though, I think it's the fact that it opens with that growl rather than waiting for later...I can't say why, but that kind of cheapens it. While it's grown on me a bit more, I still don't think it's quite up to their usual standard. And finally, "To Absent Friends" could've had a little bit more to it.

The three highlights are "Deliverance" itself, "A Fair Judgment", and "By the Pain I See in Others". Although the entire song is quite strong, I think, I believe the strongest point of "Deliverance" is its fantastic outro; that strange pattern could drive you out of your mind. I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the time signature there, but there is something very unusual about it, that's for sure. López's transition into this section is very interesting, but the best part is that warped synth effect as the outro gathers strength. I know that a lot of people are bothered by the repetition in that particular part, but I really do enjoy it. "A Fair Judgment" is perhaps best for being a combination of the styles heard on both Deliverance and Damnation. As for "By the Pain I See in Others", there's something about it that is very similar to "Demon of the Fall" in its explosions of a fierce, capricious, and destructive rage--yet it still feels original. This one is also, in my opinion, the lyrical strong point of Deliverance.

There was also another song that I think had a truly excellent part to it: "Master's Apprentices". This song was a bit of a mix, though...I felt that the dryness of the vocal mix (as with "Wreath") hurt it in the beginning, but the guitar layering was extremely interesting, and the odd timing used. The outro harmony, however, was absolutely the most beautiful part of it. Overall, this album does, as a friend of mine said, "blow away most modern metal", and there are some excellent parts indeed, but I think this was a bit of an exercise in missed potential. Perhaps trying to split the concept into a lighter and softer side hurt the metal section a bit, by taking away some of the balance...and then there were the issues with the mixing. After listening to their other particularly heavy album, My Arms, Your Hearse, I realized that this is probably one of the weakest of their efforts that I currently own. But, don't let that put you off TOO much--it's still well worth having if you're into intelligent metal at all.

Opeth just keep getting better! This album continues to grow on me with each listen, similarly with their "Still Life" album. It serves as a very powerful prelude to 2003's "Damnation", which can be seen as a sister to this album. "Deliverance" is also a great sequel to their masterpiece, "Blackwater Park". The only thing missing from this album is that it doesn't quite use their winning formula of balance that was present on "Still Life", and then perfected on "Blackwater Park". This album is quite similar to "My Arms, Your Hearse", and is definetly the heaviest thing since that album. This one has less acoustic breaks inbetweem the thundering heavy riffs, but fear not as there are some amazing mellow moments on this album.

These mellow moments lie in the tracks "A Fair Judgement" and "For Absent Friends". These are two of my favourite Opeth tracks, and standout tracks on this album, along with "Masters Apprentices" and the title track. This album is probably best seen as the heavy side of "Damnation", as this is almost like disc 1 of a double album, with "Damnation" being disc 2.

While most of the other Opeth albums like to draw you in with an impressive build up, (i think the best one was the creeping intro to "The Moor" that kicked off 1999's "Still Life" album) this album goes for a kick you in the teeth opening, as it gets going straight away. "Wreath" starts off with a drum fill intro and then explodes into some heavy riffage. Kudos to the drummer as his double bass peddling fury works wonders here. This is undeniably some of their heaviest work. This track is long but is kept appealing with some great vocals, both growling and singing, as well some impressive soloing.

The title track on here is one of my favourite Opeth songs, and a real wonder on this album. one flaw is the climax of this song definetly feels like a bit of filler, it drags on a little long but i never have the urge to skip or anything as it is a continuous blast of heavy riffage. There is an impressive change between mellow and angry vocals in this piece and it has some really bonecrunching and catchy riffs.

Once that continuous riffage is over at the end, the album is lead into track 3, probably the best track on this album, "A Fair Judgement" starts off with a quiet piano intro that leads into some powerful and emotional guitar work as well as Mikaels trademark mellow vocals. This track travels through heavier and softer guitar work and steadily climaxes with a thunderous fading riff that works its way into the superb "For Absent Friends". This is an interlude to this monsterous album and works similarly to "Patterns in the Ivy", "Madrigal" and "Requiem" off previous albums. This one is extra special as not only is it a blatent nod towards Genesis, but its soft acoustic and lead guitar work give the album such a warm atmosphere. This is a work of intense beauty.

Predictably, this track works its way into an intesnely heavy piece of work. "Masters Apprentices" is one of the best tracks on the album as it has amazing guitar riffs in it as well as strong drum, bass and vocal work. Truely the presence of evil, but the riffs really are impressive as well as energetic.This beast actually has an amazing soft singing part just passed the 6 minute mark.

The final track, "By the Pain I See in Others" is actually one of Opeths most experimental moments. Excellently produced, (by Steve Wilson, i believe) This track has a lot of contrast between extremely heavy moments and some softer moments. The very first riff finds its way into a dark acoustic backing with growling vocals above that, which is quite unexpected! This is a long piece with plenty of time signature changes. There is a really weird ending to this as it goes quiet for a little bit and ends with some weird vocal work. An odd ending to a great album, but what the hell, maybe it is not a definite end since there is "Damnation" to lead on from this.

Deliverance is one of the heaviest albums, probably second to "My Arms, Your Hearse". These is a great sense of production, experimenting, ferocious riffs and excellent softer work throughout to keep this album interesting. I wouldn't call this a step back from "Blackwater Park" but a begining to a new path, i am glad they didn't try to repeat BWP, but it would have been nice to see a bit more balance using the writing structures of that album. This is brilliant and goes really well with Damnation.

After the massively successful Blackwater Park, Opeth went into the studio to record two albums for the cost of one. The resulting albums were Deliverance and Damnation. Deliverance is easily the heaviest album Opeth have attempted since My Arms, Your Hearse. The only problem with this album is that Opeth seemed to have pulled a Train Of Thought, meaning long instrumental sections that at times can get on the boring side. The musicianship is among the best they've done on the metal side of things. Intricate riffs and death metal grunts are among the highlights off the album, as well as thoughtful and deep lyrics from Akerfeldt. Martin Lopez and Mendez provide a cohesive and tight rhythm unit while Peter Lindgren and Mikael Akerfeldt provide the metal onslaught. Lindgren gives many stand out performances on this album, his bluesy Gilmour-esque guitar solos create an emotional atmosphere to the thunderous guitar riffs.

From the opening drum fill of Wreath to the silent outro to By the Pain I See in Others, there is something all metal fans can like here. Even the somber and quiet For Absent Friends offers many different atmospheres to the album. Steven Wilson creates many atmospheres with his mellotron and does a great job from the production standpoint. My favorite tracks on the album are Deliverance, A Fair Judgment, and For Absent Friends. The first beginning with a powerful guitar riff and some stand out drumming from Lopez. It soon changes riff structure very quickly and becomes one of their most complicated riffs. A Fair Judgment and For Absent Friends are the most mellow tracks on the album. The first provides some of Akerfeldt's best lyrics, and some of his best acoustic work. As the piece progresses, the riffs get heavier and heavier, but Akerfeldt's vocal only very subtly goes from his clean voice to his growl. And the final being a short instrumental break, with some standout work from Lindgren and Wilson.

Overall, this is a very metal album, but the acoustic sections (the few) are stellar additions to a great mixture. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who wants to get into Opeth, but it is a great effort and should not be overlooked by fans. 4/5.

What to say about my favourite Opeth release?

I don't know why, but this is what I think every time I hear this album... It was the first Opeth's disc I bought, and after hearing it, I didn't like it very much... Maybe it was too hard for me, too much growls and chaos. But short after hearing it, I wished to give it another opportunity... And another, and another, and another... Til I was really addicted to this album, and its dark, brutal and complex magic!

Six years after this day, I'm still surprised every time I hear this 6 incredible tracks... The amount of power Opeth gave this songs is incredible. Is their hardest album so far, and their most progressive one. I know that "Watershed" has more instrumental richness, and it touches differentes styles... But "Deliverance" is complex in essence, in the structure of every song... You only have to hear the tittle song to notice! Its incredible final part is one of the highlights of the Opeth's career, and the best López drumming!

Another thing I like from this album is the sound... I'm sorry for "Ghost Reveries" and "Watershed", but Opeth didn't get the incredible sound of "Deliverance" and "Damantion" again. Steve Wilson is a great producer, and Deliverance is his peak with Opeth... The small detalils it has, and perfect guitar sound, the powerful drums... The best sounding Opeth's album so far! It even surpases Blackwater Park in terms of production.

Best Songs: all of them... I don't count the small For Absent Friends, it's too short. The rest are just incredible progressive death metal bullets! A Fair Judgement is still my favourite Opeth's song.

Conclusion: in my humble opinion, this is the best Opeth album... Complex, dark and really hard, but with the usual amount of feeling that Akerfeldt give to his songs. If you are new to Opeth, maybe this is not the best approaching to the band, because it's one of their less accesible works. But I think this album is an obligated listening to every music lover due its quality... So if you don't dislike death metal, and you're not afraid of complex, challenging but sentimental music, I strongly recommend you this masterpiece!

My rating: *****

Opeth's Deliverence album is one of their few underrated releases. Deliverence was the album that followed Blackwater Park, which was somewhat of a breakthrough for the band. Deliverence is an album that is quite different from Blackwater Park.

Deliverence once again shows us why Opeth are the masters of combining heavy death metal parts with light progressive passages. The playing on this album is some of the most controlled from any band. Opeth writes some moderately complex music that sounds quite simple. The variation on this album is excellent, for the death heads there is the opening track "Wreath". For fans of the more progressive side of Opeth there is the third track "A Fair Judgement" which has some of the greatest guitar harmonies by this band. For all of you hippie fans of Opeth the closer "By the Pain I See In Others" will allow you to reminisce while producer Steven Wilson graces the wonderful hammond organ. The atmosphere on this album is cold, colder than the most prestigous scandanavian winters. When a listener is looking for a dark, variant, and melodic atmospheric album, Deliverence is the one.

The production on this album is fantasic. Give the credit to Steven Wilson. The drums have excellent prescence in both hard and soft parts. The guitars make very smooth transitions from electric distortion sounds to clean acoustics and vice versa. The bass is smooth throughout all of the album. The vocals are the best part of this production. The harmonies are rich, but difficult to pick appart. The growls are deep and quite clear for growls. Excellent job of production on all aspects of this album.

Deliverance is yet another standard Opeth album, full of despair, death, bleakness and solitude. The band mixes aggressive passages with acoustic ones, moving from brutal to melodic to soft atmospheric moments in just about every song. For the most part, the album contains better clean vocals and better harsh growls as well, with the lows even lower than on previous offerings.

Akerfeldt's vocals have improved over the years, understandably so. As a fan of Blackwater Park and Still Life, I guess you can say I wasn't expecting such an aggressive offering at all. Some of the most obvious new developments on Deliverance was the presence of more guitar solos than usual and to a certain extent there's more varied and technical drum-work throughout the album.

Although there are only 6 songs on Deliverance, everything I love about the band is here; aggressiveness, slow calming moments, atmospheric passages and a very good mix of vocals overall. The album beams with confidence, style and intensity. Just what the doctor ordered...Melodic Progressive Death Metal for the soul. (haha) Despite the fact that the songs are lengthy, they never drag on aimlessly nor become ever redundant.

Deliverance opens with "Wreath," one of Opeth's most candid songs up until this album. The band uses a repetitive riff that creates a somnolent march-like sequence. Many spins later and the magic between the lines is exposed. The lyrics, composition, song structure and execution...all done with precision and expertise!

The title track is a 13 minute massive undertaking with some of the very fine composition handiwork that we've come to expect from the band. The song includes a 3 minute instrumental-feast, highlighting the band at it's absolute progressive best.

"A fair judgement" slips effortlessly from one brilliant moment to the next and "For absent friends" is for all intents and purposes, a 2 minute acoustic instrumental break. Enjoy it 'cause what comes next is "Masters apprentices," which begins a deadly stride with its' inherent Death Metal attitude only to move into what I would call a cool spring morning mid-way through the song.

And finally the album closes with "By the pain I see in others." This song instills a sense of true discomfort as Akerfeldt gives one of his most chilling vocal performance.

Hidden behind "By the pain I see in others" is a haunting passage, just one chilling voice with a message, an appropriate surprise ending to a great album. I often wondered how Opeth manages time and time again to put down 60 plus minutes of music and make them feel like 30?

For those who are not easily impressed, Deliverance is not immediate music, you don't always get it on the first spin, though it does pack a punch and has a long affecting impact on you, the music is for extreme progressive metal enthusiasts only.

This was the first of a two-part release recorded at the same time. "Deliverance" and "Damnation" were meant to go hand-in-hand, "Deliverance" being the heavy cd and "Damnation" being the mellow cd. They switched the titles around because they felt it would have been too predictable to have the names make sense. (I'm not making that up).

Although this only has six songs, it runs a little over an hour long. It was partially produced by Steve Wilson, who has a noticeable effect on the band’s sound. Everything sounds a bit washed out and dry, and parts of it sound very similar to Porcupine Tree’s “In Absentia”. The band seems to really work together well here, and the songs take a step backwards from their convoluted song structures of past. Opeth has adopted a much more straightforward style which makes getting the riffs a lot easier. The vocals are often layered with four or five tracks, another really great effect. All of the songs still have the same “Opeth-y” feel to them, Mikael Akerfeldt has a real way with creating memorable and exciting riffs. The drummer Martin Lopez is also very talented, often blasting away for minutes on end, but I feel his best drumming is the slowed down approach found on “Damnation” and the quiet bits in this album.

This is Opeth's heaviest album to date. That's right, folks. This will pound your face in. Ok, it's not THAT heavy, but it an artsy, prog way it is. Six songs of conceptual genius. Wreath begins the storm with pounding drum work, crushing guitars, and wicked vocals. This album is probably the second longest album after Morningrise and you can tell by looking at the song lengths. "Wreath" is 10-11 minutes long, but it never gets boring, instead sweeping you into the eye of a death metal hurricane. Oh, by the way, all you people who claim that Opeth aren't death metal can shove it. There's a thing called SUBGENRES. The title track is next, and it is also bludgeoning. It's not quite as annihiliating as Wreath, but it's quite syncopated and the extended outro is mystifying. Following the title track is "A Fair Judgement", which is one of Opeth's best songs ever. It begins with an extended gloomy, barely audible piano solo which shifts to Akerfeldt's murky, mellow singing and a very simple guitar line in the chorus. Midway through the song is a very quirky guitar interlude that sounds like it was stolen from The Romantic Age. This song also has an extended outro which adds awesome drama to the song. Following this epic masterpiece is the short instrumental "For Absent Friends". It's the first one I've heard from the band and I must say I'm impressed. This ISN'T a Dream Theater-styled solo, folks. It's just a simple guitar line repeated over and over again with slight variations now and then. The tone of the guitar on this song is very reminiscent of Eric Johnson and I'm sure Johnson fans will notice this as well. "Masters Apprentices" is next and it is quite turbulent, being so shifty in rhythm as to be reminiscent of Meshuggah. There is no extended intro or outro here, but epics tend to get boring after all. Chronologically, though, every song on this album save for For Absent Friends is epic. MA seethes with malice and wickedness. "By the Pain I See in Others" is the haunting final track. It's about as groovy and straightforward as MA, but much more profound as there is an extended silence near the end of the album reprised by reverberating warbles courtesy of Akerfeldt and chilly whispers. Haha, maybe Opeth was inspired by Korn on this song, seeing as the technique of using an extended silence was pioneered by Korn on their Follow the Leader. Trust me, though, Opeth utilizes this concept much better than Korn does. Plus, Korn is lame anyway.

People who like extensive songs and Progressive rock/metal fans who can appreciate Death metal, especially the vocals that death metal bands bring will like this album. If you like original Opeth you will still like it because it holds many of the characteristics of the bands original releases. Anyway, this album is a haunting, epic, aggressive progressive death metal tour de force and it should not be ignored. Pick up if you have rest-money, which wants to be invested in some excellent extreme progressive metal. It's not as memorable as Still Life or Blackwater Park, but it will still satisfy.

album rating: 8.5/10 points = 87 % on MPV scale = 4/5 stars

point-system: 0 - 3 points = 1 star / 3.5 - 5.5 points = 2 stars / 6 - 7 points = 3 stars / 7.5 - 8.5 points = 4 stars / 9 - 10 points = 5 stars

This album is difficult for me to rate, becuase while better than many other releases by other bands, it was more or less a letdown for me, it was sub-Opeth, if that makes sense. It has many good and great sections, but many sections are boring and pointless, or even horrible.

For example, A Fair Judgement has quite possibly the worst outro ever. However, the end of Deliverance(the track) is excellent, with excellent syncopation and use of a simple chord like E5 to create a brilliant riff. This is obviously much heavier than its counterpoint, Damnation, however the heaviness is not near as awesome or moving as on albums like MAYH and Still Life. BTPISIO is one of the more interesting tracks Opeth has created, and is a real break for most Opeth fans as it doesn't have that distinct "Opeth sound" even though it implements unique breaks and death vocals.

I wouldn't blame the band entirely for this one though, as I think its unfortunate becuase of the situation they were put in during the making and recording of this album. The band was more or less rushed into doing this and as we know, creative juices can't be forced. A good album, and an excellent album to own, but not good for Opeth standards.

A dip in quality for sure.

3.2 Stars

Deliverance doesn't bring anything new. They keep exploring what Steven Wilson could do with the band. AS a result, there are more mellotrons and pianos. Sadly, this album is a huge step down in sound quality. However, I think that this album showcases Martin Lopez at his best and how his drumming is so important to the sound of the band.

Wreath is the typical headbanging opener What is different from this song is that it is almost void of any acoustic breaks. The ending is good with a simple, yet effective melodic guitar riff and overdubbed growls. Still, this song is way too long and boring.

Deliverance is fortunately much better than Wreath. The soft/heavy parts are very well balanced. The soft parts are beautiful, depressing, and haunting, while the heavy parts are quite enjoyable. The last 3 minutes are mad! A repetitive guitar riff and complex syncopated drumming that sounds insane.

A Fair Judgement is a long song free of growls and is not as heavy as the other songs on the album. It is introduced with a repetitive piano theme which becomes the main theme of the song. Some of the melodies on this song are really impressive and for me this is the 2nd best song here.

For Absent Friends is another useless acoustic song like Requiem and Patterns of the Ivy. It doesn't develop, it is just a verse and a chorus playing twice. Very boring.

Master Apprentice lacks some of the dynamics that make Opeth. They play a generic metal section for over four minutes, then an overlong acoustic section which sounds quite uninspired, and ends with metal. Nevertheless, I admit I like the soft to heavy transition near the end of the piece and the first guitar riff in the end.

By The Pain I see in Others has some unique things: growling on an acoustic passage (with the growls being extremely edited in style), some circus-like atmosphere at one point, and the eerie haunting vocals at the end. The highlight of the song is an elegant electric guitar melody.

Highlights: Deliverance A Fair Judgement

Let Downs: For Absent Friends, Wreath, Master Apprentice

My Grade : C+

Good but not essential. The songs are longer than they should be and the album might be too heavy.

A great album. Generally regarded as Opeth's heaviest that should not be a turn off. If you're not a fan of heavy guitar and especially growling then avoid this album, (but you'd want to do the same with every other album except Damnation). This album has the classic Opeth sound of mellow, acoustic prog rock and crushing, growling death metal. This album is a bit more skewed towards the latter, but both are still there.

Wreath. Album kicks right off! Some heavy, interesting riffing and blistering double bass. In a bit a slower more dramatic musical section comes in, and sounds awesome with the vocals. A cool little drum section later in the song. Near the end is a real brief acoustic part followed some of the most brutal vocals on the album!

Deliverance. Starts right out of the box with some metal. I would just like to say that besides the growling, (and double bass) even the metal in Opeth is usually slow, and based on chords or complexity. Very little thrash, tremolo picking, and never blast beats. Anywho, it doesn't take too long before a mellow section starts. The two sections will alternate throughout, with some great sections, and nice solos. Ending drags a bit.

A Fair Judgment. Nice piano intro. You hear a short gap...brace yourself! Oh wait, more mellow. This is a much slower, and melodic song. There is some heavy guitar, but the vocals are clean throughout. Some really nice acoustic sections, (especially the first one) nice solos and great drumming!

For Absent Friends. An entirely acoustic, clean song. Very nice and mellow. Beautiful.

Master's Apprentices. After the nice break its back into a heavy song. Typical Opeth song, can be a bit slow at times, (gets kind of repetitive) but good nonetheless. Really great drumming.

By the Pain I see in Other's. Most intense song on the album. Interesting intro, then a nice heavy Opeth section. After this is an acoustic section with some creepy vocals! Creepy, and awesome. Then it is into a thrashy section, (which again is not something to often seen by Opeth) then back to creepy section. Some really interesting sections in this song. Listen to the very end.

Good album. Standard Opeth album, (which is not a bad thing at all!). This means great music and songwriting, but also with some parts that drag a bit. If you really have no tolerance for growling, then stay away. If you do, or like metal, then please listen! Great album.

Four Stars

In Deliverance, Opeth came with the most heavy, energetic and dark sound ever experienced by the band, while materializing their peak force. Acoustic guitar is quite less prominent, taking away the somewhat grandiose epic feeling the previous albums had. While loosing on this aspect, the band still managed to master brightly the opposites, flowing from heavy darkness to solemn mellow passages, in very gentle unnoticed nuances. Mikael Akerfeldt publicly stated almost going crazy as they had very few time to accomplish the album, due to the closure of their previous label, and mourns over it could be better.

The album is indeed generally more aggressive than the previous ones, but it shows also the quartet subtlety at its highest level. This is specially noticed on all the entirely intimate beauty of "A Fair Judgement", a complex suite of solemn piano, celestial vocal harmonies, mellow guitars with a bit of energy at times. It is the corollary of the band's sensibility and it does not have any growl. "Deliverance" is another highlight to their repertory; again the nuance created between the energetic heavy beginning and the captivating and peaceful follower passage reaches the boundaries of celestial. The track ends in a vibrating apotheosis mastered specially by Martin Lopez energetic drumming. In fact, his drumming shows a lot of progression and intelligently continues not entering the excesses of the genre. "Wreath", the opener, is the heaviest and can frighten as it flows sometimes in an almost doom-like hard-core pattern, in a current of dozens of inspired, complex and heavy guitar riffs. The far more conventional death metal of "Master's Apprentices" and the almost psychic madness of "By the Pain I See in Others" are other great movements, always with the traditional nuances from catchy heavy riffs/growls to the quiet solemn ethereal parts.

A step forward in the band's sound. The album is, again, full of memorable complex guitar riffs and energetic heavy parts which praises to heaven the most sullen ones, taking emotion almost to tears. Definitely not for all tastes, and requires lots of patience in order to understand it, but still a masterpiece in the genre. 4,5 stars.

Deliverance and Damnation were both produced by Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson and the idea was to create two albums that would be counterparts; meaning one mellow album and one heavy album. Deliverance would be the heavy one. Steven once said in an interview (on the Lamentations dvd) that he thought he could especially be of great help on the mellow album Damnation. I think he was right.

Deliverance isn't a bad album, but I personally miss the versatility in it that Opeth displays so well on their other albums and makes them a unique band. I love it when they blend various styles, tempo's and vocals in just one song. The idea of making one mellow and one heavy album seems nice, but in my case it kind of ruins the heavy album by a lack of variation, tempo changes, acoustic guitar parts and clean vocals. Mikael's grunting vocals I can stand now and then, because normally I know that I'm going to be pleasantly surprised by his clean vocals at some point of time, but on this production it looks like he's saving his clean vocals for the DAMNATION album, except for the song "A Fair Judgement", which probably is my favorite track from the DELIVERANCE album, together with the title track. Musically it's all great again though and typical Opeth.

Fortunately for me Opeth's next studio album Ghost Reveries (after Deliverance and Damnation) would be a perfect mix of the best of both of them! I also think Ghost Reveries is their most mature album till now and certainly would rate it a lot higher than this one. I think Still Life and Ghost Reveries are their true masterpieces.

Conclusion; if you're into Opeth from the beginning already you will most certainly like this one [DELIVERANCE], however: if you were introduced by the mellow DAMNATION album stay away from this one and go try Still Life, Blackwater Park or Ghost Reveries first!

3 stars: Good, but non-essential

I'll be blunt: dividing OPETH's 2002/3 material between two albums, the heavy stuff on one and the light stuff on the other, was a mistake. A big mistake. The original idea of a double album would have worked well - or, even better, choosing the best of both would have yielded a single album of the calibre of 'Still Life'.

So here's the first of the two albums. 'Deliverance' is a heavy, dark record that doesn't work. Oddly, it's unremitting weight actually works against the feel of the album: with nothing piquant to contrast them with, the slabs of blood-red meat choke the listener as they are forced down the throat. An ill-advised attempt has been made to ease their passage by ridding the songs of the abrupt mood changes that were the highlights of 'Blackwater Park'. These songs therefore lose their drama, and the album loses shape as a result.

Three of the individual songs are well worth a listen. The title track has some excellent moments, and ends brilliantly, followed by 'A Fair Judgement', my favourite from this album. 'Master's Apprentices' is also an outstanding track, with many SABBATH-like moments. On the other hand, 'By The Pain I See In Others' has to be the first poor OPETH song I've heard. Experimental, perhaps, but it sounds as though AKERFELDT didn't know where he was going with this one. AKERFELDT himself apparently dislikes it. Discard after one listen.

This is a good album, still light-years ahead of most death-metal pretenders, and still at the cutting edge of the progressive death metal genre. But it simply does not work as an album. Lose the last track, add the best four from 'Damnation' and you have something that might work. Pity you have to pay for two albums to do it.

An uncharacteristic step backward to death-metal blandness that accomplishes little, if anything, new and lacks the band's signature songwriting magic. "Deliverance" is by no means horrible, Cannibal Corpse level death-metal, but it is beneath a band of this level-- especially given how amazing "Blackwater Park" was. The trademark dynamics are present but not nearly as effective as before, with Akerfeldt's growl dominating-- and sounding surprisingly weak compared to prior releases. What soft moments there are retain a level of class and sophistication, but are quickly shattered by easily forgettable metal riffs shortly after they start.

One for more dedicated fans.

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 2 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

This second review in very short time of an Opeth album comes after Damnation which is of course a very quiet sounding album for Opeth standard and with this one we are back with the usual style, meaning lots of grunt passages and the steady noisy kind of instrumental playing they became famous with.

This already becomes clear with the first two tracks, Wreath and Deliverance where the mentioned features are now and then variegated with some normal vocals and an occasional guitar riff. In the 3rd track A fair Judgement this even gets more evident and this is not by coincidence my favourite track of the album and no doubt one of the best ever by Opeth. I just wish they did more of their repertoire like this, then they could have been a favourite band of mine but as said their main style is really different. The 4th track is a shorty and a nice quiet interlude between all the heavy stuff. The 5th track is another slight surprise at least where the second half of the song is concerned. Here they start to "imitate" Porcupine Tree all over sudden but I'm convinced I'm still listening to Opeth. Unbelievable, really it's a 100% sound alike ! After studying the booklet I'm less surprised because I read Steve Wilson is actually participating on this album so that explains. Last few minutes they alter back to their own self again till the end of the song. Last track is less of a surprise, the only thing worth mentioning here is that also Opeth has stooped to the annoying habit of hidden tracks at the end of this song. I can't believe so many bands (and labels ?) decide to lower themselves to this nonsense. They probably think the public loves this, of course I don't know about everybody else but I can't imagine that somebody is a fan of this trashy phenomenon.

Anyway, it doesn't really change my overall opinion about the album. One great track and a few nice ones can't bring me to another decision than three stars.

I am actually (probably) not a die hard fan of Opeth but when I look at my CD shelf, I have got quite a number of albums of Opeth including this one. I have also shared with you before (in my other reviews) that at first I did not like the growl vocal style as it did not sound quite nice to my ears. But the more I spin the CD, I finally realized that the music of Opeth is quite unique and I gradually could accept the growl of Mike Akerfeldt. The only thing I applied was that I considered the growl was just a sound similar with other sound of other instruments. In fact, I finally enjoy the growl style of Mike because it's quite heavy and powerful, it fits nicely with the music of Opeth.

So, I got no problem at all with the first spin of this CD because the music is quite familiar with me. The opening track "Wreath" (11:10) is a killer really. The song has no room for mellow or soft style as when it starts it's already has heavy rhythm section using powerful riffs and dazzling drum work. It moves nicely from one segment to another with Mike Akerfeldt's heavy growl vocal and stunning guitar solo. Only at the later part of the song it provides some sort of break with the use of tabla which helps accentuate the composition. The next track is also another heavy one with title track "Deliverance" (13:36) where the guitar riffs sound rougher than the previous track. But the guitar solo is, again, another attractive part of the song. Well, I believe that Peter Lindgren provides the long guitar solo while Mike gives his rhythm section while growling. Steven Wilson backing vocal sounds nice here and it provides a break from long growl line.

"A Fair Judgement" (10:24) starts beautifully with nice piano solo with melodic notes in dark nuance. The music moves in crescendo with the entrance of vocal line (no growl) in relatively slow tempo with nice guitar solo. The kind of music reminds me to Porcupine Tree or RPWL with its psychedelic touch. The song moves gradually to heavier part in faster tempo and it returns back into slower parts with great guitar solo. It really reminds me to the kind of Porcupine Tree music. The music moves to a nice break which function as a bridge, "For Absent Friends (instrumental)" (2:17), to heavier riffs and rougher guitar in the next track "Master's Apprentices" (10:32) where Arkefeldt sings as heavy, as low as he can, which makes powerful growl.

"By The Pain I See In Others" (13:51) opens nicely with a music loop mirroring guitar rhythm followed with a blast of heavy music with nice riffs combined with dazzling drums. Mike enters his vocal line with growl in screaming mode "Aaaarrrrgghhhh ." combined beautifully with heavy music. The music suddenly moves into ambient break for a while and then it returns back to heavy (in fact, it's heavier) guitar riffs in metal vein. It's really cool.

To summarize, this album will do good for those of you who can appreciate growling style of vocal and can enjoy heavy side of prog music. It's basically a metal music with various tempo and style changes that make it a progressive band. For me personally, this album is solid and cohesive - where I can see the music flows nicely and naturally from opening to end of the album. It's heavy, but it's still prog man! Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Blackwater Park was the seminal piece for Opeth and was always going to be a very difficult act to follow up with. To the bands credit, they knew that going with a Blackwater Park 2 would not have been the right decision. The result was the creation of two albums, Damnation and this one, Deliverance, that showcased the separate sides of Opeth. Damnation, released a year after Deliverance, showed up the bands lighter, softer side but on here, its an all out attack.

If anything, though, this album is a bit of a step back, reminiscent of the bands second album, Morningrise, more than any of their others, though it has the clear and precise production of Steven Wilson behind it. The songs are all long, most over 10 minutes, and the softer and acoustic side of the band is kept to a minimum here with the heavy metal intensified over what they normally do. The result is the heaviest and most brutal album in Opeth's discography. In itself, this wouldn't actually be a bad thing but the problem is, it hasn't been executed to well, the main problem being the length of the songs. With the exception of For Absent Friends, which is less than 2:30s, the songs are all at least several minutes too long, normally the result of one or two sections per song (quite often around 2/3ds of the way through the song) being extend far past their usefulness. Another point is that atmosphere is in short supply on here. My Arms, Your Hears, Still Life and Blackwater Park are all brilliant albums because of the tangibly melancholic atmosphere to them, yet this is completely lacking here, like they made no attempt to go for it. It may be that they didn't want to, at least not in a similar way to previously, but they were exceptional at it so the sudden dropping of this quality in their music is keenly felt. My one other main gripe is that Master's Apprentice was set up to be a classic song in Opeth's repertoire, but was ruined by the excessive and tasteless over indulgence in the double-bass drumming at the start, something that is so out of touch with what the other three musicians are doing that wander if Martin Lopez was paying attention at all. The first crack in his armour that led to him leaving the band, perhaps?

It would be a bit disingenuous to say this was a bad album, because there are several parts of wonderful music, for instance Master's Apprentice is largely a very good song, as is Wreath and Deliverance, but there isn't a single full length track on here without some kind of flaw to it, whether it be overextended sections or inappropriate playing. I touched on the lack of atmosphere earlier and the major cause of its absence, I believe, is the fact that Damnation and Deliverance should never have been recorded. Opeth's brilliance comes entirely from contrasts between heavy and soft, smooth and coarse, and separating out these two aspects has not led to excellent music, in both cases you feel like something is missing. I rate Deliverance less than Damnation simply because it has more problems, but neither gets much listening in from me. 2.5 stars rounded down to 2.

This album is pretty average by both prog standards and Opeth standards.

For the most part, this is music we've heard from this band before. Wreath, Master's Apprentices, and By the Pain I See in Others all seem by-the-books Opeth. The production, aided by the unlikely fairy godmother of death metal, Steven Wilson, is once again quite crisp and classy. The musicians are all in fine form, Mikael's voice works like it's supposed to, and the band plays. Good quality, enjoyable fun. For the most part, particularly unremarkable.

The only track that truly stands out of this record to me is the title track. It kicks off in a very heavy, fast vein, and keeps going pretty standard for its first nine minutes or so. There are mellow parts and heavy parts, as you'd expect. The key, though, is its famous outro, almost four minutes of this peculiar three dimensional riff, written and presented in a way that does not seem to get old ever, even after hearing it for four minutes. If you're an Opeth fan, the album is worth it for this song alone.

Nothing that new or inspiring from the band, honestly, but this release is still fairly solid and worthy of an average rating.

1. Wreath (11:10) 2. Deliverance (13:36) 3. A Fair Judgement (10:24) 4. For Absent Friends (instrumental) (2:17) 5. Master's Apprentices (10:32) 6. By The Pain I See In Others(13:51)

I don't really know how to describe this album... I love, but i hate it. I love it because of it's significance in Opeth's career (more on that later). I hate it, however, because some of Opeth's best moments are in here, but buried beneath some really awful stuff at the same time. Ideally, I would say that A Fair Judgement, Deliverance and By The Pain are brilliant songs that are suffocated by the other three tracks of just utter wrecklessness: this album is the first and only one i've heard where the band lack sophistication and sound like regular death-metal. Even the debut Orchid has a higher degree of prog that the worst parts of this album, and some bits even go as far as unlistenable. Anyways, enough of the negativity. Now to the positives.

Around 40% of the material on this album is absolutely bliss and very original, 20% of it is some of their best work. The title track is easily in my top 5 Opeth songs, By The Pain has an awesome catchy riff and A Fair Judgement is a semi-ballad, not unlike the earlier To Bid You Farewell. Also, this is a clear vehicle for the rest of the band, more notably Mikael Akefeldt, as Deliverance really and truly develops his songwriting skills, which enabled him to create their next masterpiece Ghost Reveries. But, the most noticeable change in musicianship is in that of Martin Lopez. I personally don't know what happened before they recorded Deliverance, someone must've have tripped a nerve or something; he is ON FIRE!!! Need any more be said? he's even more reckless, tireless and energetic than ever before, which is a major upside to this album.

Now for a brief track by track:

1. Wreath - Appalling, absolutely appalling. There is no thought involved compared to the rest of Opeth's repetoire, and you have to wait till about the 5 minute mark before it even gets remotely interesting, then it once again just slips into a typical metal mess. No. Really not a very good effort at all, i would expect better from Mikael. However, not the worst song on this album. 1/10

2. Deliverance - Just as you're about to take the CD out of the tray after hearing Wreath, you uncover this timeless gem. It kicks off with an aggressive 7/8 metal riff that then leads into some more awesome riffs powered by Lopez's drumming. This, personally, is enough to keep me hooked, but then just before the 2 minute mark we hear Mikael's lush clear voice, interrupted briefly by short bursts of aggression. The song progresses beautifully through some really great melodies and rhythmic passages until it reaches that riff that everyone's talking about. The Deliverance riff, and it is what Opeth fans make it out to be: excellent. I'll leave it at that, a flawless song. 10/10

3. A Fair Judgement - This is kind of a ballad. I say that because it has no growling, has a slow beat and is mellow most of the time, but it also has it's extremely heavy moments, much like Face Of Melinda. It is worth noting that this song has one of Opeth's more godlike guitar solos, so it cannot be ignored! The only complaint i have is the really lame piano sound at the beginning. It sounds very tinny and occupies almost 20% of the song. 8/10

4. For Absent Friends - A disappointment, I found it very pointless. Normally, the short songs in other albums link songs very nicely together, e.g. Madrigal from MAYH. However, this is very bland and doesn't do ANYTHING for the album. Other than that it's also the title of a Genesis song of similar length. I honestly don't know what Mikael Akefeldt was thinkin if i'm honest. 0/10

5. Master's Apprentices - Another awful track, it gets very boring. It also provides us with a lesson on how NOT to use a double bass pedal, as much as i love Martin Lopez, he shows no respect for the song in the first few minutes. It mellows down about half way through, but once again, it presents nothing new and i'd rather listen to the rest of Opeth's catalogue. Overall a very unoriginal belch from Mikael's imagination. 2/10

6. By The Pain I See In Others - This song owns Opeth's catchiest riff ever. I exaggerate slightly, because it probably isn't, but i can't get enough of it! Shame it only lasts for abou a minute. This is actually pretty mellow, it has a lot of mellow sections, which is good in a way because it heals your ears after listening to Master's Apprentices. Other than being very melodic, there is one other thing that stands out: Mikael does something very unusual with his voice during the first mellow section, a growl which he has never used before. You may want to listen out for it due to general interest. Overall, a strong track, putting aside the few minutes of nothingness. 8/10

So as you can see, it has one high moment that is worth buying the album for. Other than that though, it's either really good or terrible, the terrible parts unfortunately outweighing the good bits. I'll give it a generous three stars, as it should be 2, but Deliverance saves it from those murky depths.

Deliverance is the sixth studio album from Swedish progressive extreme metal band Opeth. Widely recognised as the band´s heaviest effort it´s also one of the least popular albums from Opeth here on PA. The heavy nature of Deliverance is not something that bothers me. In fact I rank Deliverance among the best albums Opeth has yet released. It probably comes down to your musical background. I enjoy extreme metal and Deliverance is not a very extreme album compared to releases from other extreme metal bands. It´s actually a very sophisticated progressive extreme metal album with all the trademarks we´re used to from Opeth like the cleverly build riffing, the long and intriguingly structured songs, the dynamic shifts between heavy parts with death metal growling and mellow melancholic acoustic part with Mikael Åkerfeldt´s beautiful clean singing ( there is also clean singing over the heavy parts). Deliverance is just a notch more brutal than than what we´re used to from the band.

I´ve been listening to Deliverance a few times to make this review ( not that I really needed to as I´ve listened to this album countless times since I got it a few years back) and what struck me after my listening sessions is what a powerful album this is but at the same time how beautiful it is too. It may not have the distinct leads and melodies that made Blackwater Park such a masterpiece, but Deliverance seems a bit more consistent IMO. The only track here that I don´t find very exciting is the short acoustic guitar piece For Absent Friends, but it doesn´t annoy me or anything like that.

The other five songs which are all longer than ten minutes each are IMO some of the best songs Opeth have done yet. The album starts with the most uncompromisingly heavy song Opeth have ever done. Wreath is heavy, doomy and aggressive and it´s one of the few Opeth songs where there are no clean vocals. I think it´s a very powerful song. The title track is up next and it´s just such a classic Opeth track. Catchy heavy parts, mellow beautiful parts, great singing and growling from Mikael Åkerfeldt and of course the ending tech metal section that makes me go crazy every time. I just can´t stop tapping my fingers to the beat. It´s probably the best song on the album, but I enjoy them all so it´s hard to say. A Fair Judgement is up next and it´s a beautiful majestic song which only feautures clean singing. Beautiful soloing, mellow acoustic parts and heavy doomy riffs. Just listen to the ending. They don´t come much more doomy than that if you still want to keep your riffs exciting that is ( I´m an old doom death fan, but quite frankly I´m a bit tired of listening to power chords being held for 20 seconds at a time). I´ve already mentioned my feelings for For Absent Friends so let´s leave it at that. Master's Apprentices starts of with a very heavy section but about middle way through the song we´re treated to some sophisticated melodic parts. Great clean vocals from Mikael Åkerfeldt in this song and a bit of backing choir too. It´s another highlight on Deliverance and a live favorite. The album ends with By The Pain I See In Others which is another great Opeth song. It´s the least interesting of the long songs here but still a great song though.

The musicianship is excellent. Mikael Åkerfeldt of course has to be mentioned. First of all because of his outstanding compositional skills but also because he is a great singer and guitarist too. Drummer Martin Lopez is scolded in a lot of reviews because of his performance on Deliverance and especially because of his excessive use of the double pedal on Wreath and Master's Apprentices. I would like to make a comment about that. First of all it doesn´t bother me, but I do acknowledge that double bass pedalling is an aquired taste. Secondly the blame should be on Mikael Åkerfeldt. If you have seen the documentary part of the Lamentations DVD you will have seen that Mikael Åkerfeldt dictates how Martin Lopez should play his drums, so I´m sure that Mikael wanted the drums to sound exactly like they do.

The production is excellent but again it will be an aquired taste if you enjoy the very metallic approach producer Steven Wilson ( Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, Bass Communion...etc) has chosen. The production certainly enhances the heavy nature of the music. Steven Wilson is also featured on backing vocals, guitars and mellotron on the album.

This is an extremely well crafted album. Great compositions, excellent musicianship and a powerful production. As with any Opeth album it really stands out from the rest. A truly unique album. Once again Opeth prove that they can satisfy both fans of extreme metal and fans of progressive rock. The latter group might be a bit intimidated this time around, but I still think that Deliverance is sophisticated enough to appeal to progressive rock fans as well as extreme metal fans. With no hesitation whatsoever I will rate Deliverance with 5 stars. It´s one of most beloved albums in my collection.

Very, VERY sorely underrated.

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.

'Deliverence' - Opeth (6/10)

This album, despite it's technical prowess, has never struck me as anything beyond 'average.' It's more or less a death metal record. While I am a fan of extreme metal, I lean more towards prog. This album has little progressive influence. Songs like 'Wreath' and 'Master's Apprentices' while being very heavy and good metal pieces, are simply too enveloped with a more typical death metal sound then we're used to from a band as innovative as Opeth.

However, this collection of songs is not without it's merits. The title track for instance is fantastic, and one of the most solid songs by the band. 'Deliverence' also has one of the greatest outros I've ever heard in a song; the last four minutes of the song form together to make a truly epic end. A dark lyrical acoustic section leads into what could possibly be the most intense Opeth material ever recorded. As an oddity of the album, the outro is actually incredibly progressive, and uses multiple guitar layers to carve out a deep, heavy, and atmospheric musical texture. If anything in this album is ever listened to, it should be the last four and a half minutes of 'Deliverence.'

That's the thing about the album. There are some fantastic parts, where the focus on heaviness and straightforward antics really, really works. For instance, the last three minutes of 'Wreath' are breathtaking, as well as the acoustic interlude in 'Master's Apprentices.' The only song that really does not work is 'The Pain I See In Others,' which besides an interesting title, is probably my least favourite Opeth song.

This album is generally seen as the low point of Opeth's career, and while that may or may not be true, there's still some stuff that's worth exploring in this album. Very heavy, and worth a look if you're into death metal.

Back in 2002, Deliverance came as a big disappointment after the stellar albums that preceded it. I had come to know Opeth in 2001 and had devoured their entire back catalogue in no time. Resulting in playing MAYH, Still Life and Blackwater Park on almost endless repeat. I thought Deliverance to be a few leagues behind but I've revisited it after 2008's disappointing Watershed and I have to admit I might have been a bit too negative towards it.

First of all, the tracks A Fair Judgement and especially Deliverance have been instant Opeth classics from the very start. Top 5 star stuff. But also Wreath is really impressing. Admitted, it sits closer to the death metal of Bloodbath then to regular Opeth but it is an entirely strong composition. I saw them perform it live in NYC (May 2009, in a nice package with Enslaved!) and it has kind of stuck ever since.

After the most impressive first 35 minutes, the level nevertheless decreases. Master's Apprentices has a rather monotonous start, both repetitive and gruff but not intense enough, just brutal without much emotion. It evolves into a nice piece once the clean vocals kick in. By The Pain I See In Others leaves a similar mixed impression. Especially the sinister vocal effect in the first verses and most of the grunting doesn't do much for me here

Despite some flaws I've made my peace with this album now, a solid 3.5 stars.

Deliverance is one of Opeth's heaviest albums, which is the excact opposite of Damnation, which was released just slightly after it. Many people accuse the album of not doing anything new, having bad songwriting and being kind of blank. I don't agree with any of these, and I think Deliverance is a very good piece of music. It is slightly more straight forward than most other Opeth releases, and does have some sort of cheesy sounding riffs, but what's important that it all is done very well, resulting in a very enjoyable record.

The album opens with the rough "Wreath". A more typical metal song that's not as progressive as most of Opeth's songs. It also is one of their heaviest, featuring lots of heavy, distorted guitar playing and growling vocals. It is by no means a bad track, though far from the bands best. The title track, "Deliverance" is a much more excellent composition. The song is very progressive, as it combines heavy parts with softer parts, and has some very technical musicianship in it. The final minutes are absolutely wonderful, and among the best Opeth has ever done. Just as much as "Deliverance" I enjoy "Master's Apprentices", that just like "Wreath" is less progressive than most Opeth has done. The song starts of incredibly heavy, with a typical metal riff and double bass druming. After a while it becomes more variated and mellow though, which results in a very enjoyable song.

"A Fair Judgement" is a softer track, though still having its louder moments. The song features a nice piano intro, but the song doesn't reach the greatness of "Master's Apprentices" and the title track. "For Absent Friends" is a short instrumental interlude. It gives us a soft break from all the roughness on the album, and is a nice little piece. Unfortunately the album isn't all good. "By The Pain I See In Others" is a song I don't like at all. The opening riff sounds terribly annoying, and although being pretty diverse, the song doesn't do anything to me at all. A very weak ending of an excellent album.

Apart from the final track the album is full of good music. It isn't the bands best effort, but it definately is enjoyable and has some brilliant moments. I would recommend this album to anybody who likes the heaviest side of Opeth and doesn't mind a some less progressive metal than an album like Blackwater Park. I will rate Deliverance four stars, as it is far from perfect but still very good.

After the exceptional statement that was Blackwater Park the band went on to write and record their most ambitious release to date. Mikael Åkerfeldt had originally intended to create the band's heaviest album to date but due to amount of great mellow song ideas decided to separate the two styles and release a double album that featured one side of each.

Unfortunately this idea didn't hit it off with the label, especially after Mikael's proposal to sell the album at the price of a single disc release, and the two sides were split into two separate releases with almost half a year between the release dates. Personally I think that the original idea would have easily made the album into the pinnacle of this band's career, sort of a new Physical Graffiti following up the success of Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy (Still Life and Blackwater Park).

Deliverance is the first of the two releases demonstrating the heavy side of Opeth. Surprisingly enough this album has been very underrated due to something I call the Train Of Thought-effect (even though that album was released a year after Deliverance). It seems that the unexpected heavy side of the music discourages people to see the progressive side of the material, which I assure you delivers plenty of highlights. The title-track is an excellent example of just that, featuring some of the best riffs and section transitions that Opeth have ever delivered.

Even though this was suppose to be the heaviest Opeth release to date the album actually delivers a great ballad called A Fair Judgement that might get a bit heavy towards the end of its 10 minute run but the overall mood will most likely remind the listeners of similar compositions like Harvest and Credence. Master's Apprentices is another huge favorite of mine which does have a few structural similarities to the The Funeral Portrait from the previous album but a few revisits will uncover that this is anything but an ultra-heavy straightforward performance. The middle acoustic section is easily among the best performances from the band in terms of atmosphere and melodic hooks.

It's a pity that such a great album has to end with the sloppy number called By The Pain I See In Others. This track jumps all over the place without a clear sense of direction plus I really dislike the echo-effect that was added to Mikael's growl at one early instance of the song. Also I seen no point in fading out the composition at a 10-minute mark only to add a short hidden track towards the end. I remember reading an interview with Mikael Åkerfeldt where he listed this track as one of his least favorite among the band's works and I can only agree with that statement.

Deliverance is an excellent continuation of the Blackwater Park-sound that only falls slightly short of a masterpiece due to the mixed bag of a last track. Therefore only an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection, with a higher rating dangling by a thread.

***** star songs: Deliverance (13:36) A Fair Judgement (10:21) Master's Apprentices (10:30)

**** star songs: Wreath (11:11) For Absent Friends (2:17)

*** star songs: By The Pain I See In Others (13:50)

One of Opeth's most loved and at the same time hated albums, I thought I was going to hate it, and already with my first listen I wasn't satisfied. But "Deliverance", after it grows on you, is a great album, which was totally unexpected by this reviewer.

The music here is probably the heaviest Opeth has ever done, even though there are many soft moments. The production in this album is really good, with excellent mixing concerning all the instruments. The guitars have never sounded this clean and precise, not even the big classic albums have such an amazing quality. The musicianship is as well excellent; Mikael Akerfeldt's singing is at it's peak, Martin Lopez's drumming is very virtuous and unique as well as the impressive bass playing by Martin Mandez. Basically, the musicianship here is really good.

Fans shouldn't have worried about Opeth changing their sound, because it didn't at all, unlike "Watershed", six years later. We still got the Akerfeldt death growls that accompany the strong, dark, vigorous guitar riffs, which are then developed by constant time changes so that at the end of the song we have this beautiful and perfect collage of pieces and ideas, very effectively put together into one composition. This explains the fact that they are six tracks here, almost all of them ten minutes or so. The softer parts are very much present, and can dominate a good half of a song, even though "Deliverance" is arguably the band's heaviest and most metal influenced record. What makes it original in my opinion is the surprisingly frequent technical moments, something that also never occurs in an Opeth album; the rhythms in particular can be very complex and somewhat spectacular in many parts.

Many songs are worth mentioning, like the long title track, almost thirteen of heavy riffs mixed with some more rockish influences here and there. "A Fair Judgement" is a beautiful, slower song, with a haunting melody an element that Opeth is so good at doing. "Masters Apprentice" is a perfect example of the band's elevation in heaviness. "By The Pain I See In Others" is probably the most complex song of the album, the song with most time changes; sometimes it's not as gripping as you would wish it would be. But I love the obvious increase of experimentation here, thanks to the wider use of keys.

Overall a great album, every metal head in my opinion should take this under consideration. I loved it.

A fair judgement of this album... avoid if you do not like death metal growls and noise.

This is the album I checked out immediately after being blown away by Damnation. After having my ears caressed by the haunting progressive tones of Akerfeldt and co, imagine my disdain when confronted with this ear bleeding assault. Akerfeldt sounds like he has been swallowing gravel for breakfast, and there is way too much death metal growls, it never stops. Now, this might be fine for those out there who still think this is the way to present metal. in that case, try Morbid Angel or Sepultura. They are not prog and neither is this album.

Opeth are capable of great beauty and a balance of some death metal mixed with quieter moments works brilliantly. It has been done on subsequent albums BlackWater Park, and Ghost Reveries and Still Life and the latest and greatest Heritage is all the better for omitting the vomiting caustic vocals all together. The problem I have with this album is that I cannot stand an overabundance of death metal growls and therefore can never rate this album on a personal level more than 2 stars. However it has merit if you are into that style but count me out. For Absent Friends and A Fair Judgement are quieter moments but it is still not enough to enthrall me.

This is the worst Opeth album I have ever been inundated with. The songs are ridiculously long and boring with forgettable riffs and huge chunks of kanoodling for the sake of it, almost fillers of fillers. Wreath clocks 11:10; Deliverance 13:36 and By The Pain I See In Others almost 14 minutes, but nothing really happens in these tracks, just one repetitive riff after another and a bunch of screaming juvenile nonsense. Long songs are not prog and I had trouble getting into any of this. There are a few shining moments but they are ruined with the abysmal growling and headache inducing distortion. Opeth are capable of brilliance but they are totally in the dark with this morbid mess.

Typically, Opeth is a study in contrasts, loud contrasted with soft, dirty vocals contrasted with clean vocals. Their best songs have an excellent balance of both. This album is weighted towards the loud, dirty side, but still has it's quieter and clean moments. The reason why the balance is a little out here is this album concentrates on the hard side while the album "Damnation" which was released 5 months later would be weighted very much towards the softer side. Between the two albums, progressive elements reign supreme. However, having an album leaning to the loud side is a little detrimental to the overall sound of the album. But, not enough of a detriment to still not be considered an excellent album. In contrast, Damnation in my opinion is a 5 star album where this one suffers a little at 4 stars.

It's not that I don't like heavy music, I love it. "Blackwater Park" is the better album out of that one and this one and there is plenty of hard music on that album. The part I don't like as much is the growling vocals. Mikael has a beautiful voice when he sings clean vocals, but I just don't get the harsh growling vocals, to me it distracts from the overall music. But the progressive elements of the metal instrumentals is amazing. The music is ever changing, tricky rhythms, dynamism and challenging at times. That is what makes this album worthwhile. To me, this was the first heavy Opeth album I heard and it was only because it came with the set I got that included "Damnation", which I fell in love with immediately, so naturally I listened to this also, and that opened my mind to other tech metal progressive bands, so this album has it's personal value to me. I actually discovered Anathema, Agollach, Ulver and others through this album.

So, it's not the best of their albums, but is one of the better ones. I give it 4 stars. A good way to introduce yourself to Tech metal along with "Damnation"

It's fair to say that some bands are better within their comfort zone than others; from the moment Opeth's debut Orchid came out, their goal has presumably been to bring 70s progressive rock and folk-oriented beauty to the normally extreme nature of death metal. Whereas bands like Tristania and Within Temptation would use the "Beauty and the Beast" approach to contrasting vocal dynamics/styles, Opeth essentially brought this concept to their instrumentation. In one song alone, you could get a fast death metal riff, a soothing acoustic segment, some light jazz touches here and there in the soloing, the occasional classical detour, some occasional black metal screams (mainly in their early work), the list goes on. Well, around the time the band's fourth effort Still Life came out and had a more polished sound, it felt as though we were entering a new chapter in their career. While Blackwater Park was a more than solid successor to Still Life, sadly the following two efforts weren't.

Deliverance and Damnation were released to showcase the band's heavy side and light side, respectively. While Deliverance has a few songs similar to Damnation, its main focus is on heavy distorted riffing and an emphasis on Mikael Akerfeldt's inhuman growling. Damnation, on the other hand, was more focused on mellotron-laden 70s progressive rock with a strong emphasis on its melancholic atmosphere. While both albums are terribly flawed, Deliverance seems to be the weaker effort in the long run; why? Well, to get straight to the point, the album is split into two halves. One of them is great; the other one's awful. It's one of the very few albums I've ever heard where it's literally split down the middle in terms of quality, and it makes for an extremely frustrating and ultimately average experience.

The first half is where things really shine; here, we have "Wreath," the title track, and "A Fair Judgement." Every song here exceeds the ten-minute mark, some more deserving of a long length than others. "Wreath" is probably the song that suffers the most from length here, but at least there's enough to keep you on your toes. The beginning riff is definitely an odd way to open up an album for starters; while it has that 12/8 time signature Opeth is obsessed with, the drums are a bit off-kilter when combined with the guitar work. They constantly switch between a weird rhythm with off-beat snare drum placements and the typical swinging rhythm Opeth normally utilize. Anyway, while the beginning sounds quite intimidating, the song quickly goes into a melancholic set of melodic guitar patterns. Unfortunately, this part does go on for a bit too long and even the solos aren't really interesting enough to justify each set of chord changes. Luckily, a pretty nifty speed metal section (!) picks up the pace with a guitar solo that almost sounds middle-eastern in execution. Anyway, the song's flawed but definitely great. The reason so much of this writing was spent on "Wreath" is that the rest of the album is quite similar in style, for better or for worse. The only deviations from this are the more subdued piano-driven "A Fair Judgement" and the interlude "For Absent Friends." The title track, however, is the best example of the Opeth formula done well on this album. With a nice mix between wonderfully dissonant guitar patterns, sorrowful acoustic guitar picking at choice moments, and a healthy amount of tempo changes to spice things up, this song pretty marks the direction the overall album should have taken. The song also showcases Akerfeldt's clean vocals more, since the folkier moments almost always call for them; that's always a plus. The main riff sounds deliciously evil, switching between dissonant guitar melodies in different keys to create a dark and eerie mood. "A Fair Judgement" is the curveball of the album when you get down to it, trading in the growls and overall brutality for a beautiful piano ballad. While it does get louder later on, as power ballads go, the song keeps focus until the very end. Similar to Damnation, this song maintains a consistently sorrowful atmosphere as the cleanly-spaced piano chords are constantly ascending and descending between two keys to create "peaks and valleys" mood-wise. The overall piece is just as well composed as the two that came before it, and serves as a nice conclusion to Side 1.

Unfortunately, here's where the real [&*!#] begins. "For Absent Friends," "Master's Apprentices," and "By the Pain I See in Others" are the songs on the second side, and absolutely kill what the album might have been going for. "For Absent Friends," while refreshingly short, doesn't really have a purpose on the album other than being an average interlude. The continuation of the soft ballad-esque ideas from "A Fair Judgement" is nice, though. However, I can't even begin to describe how awful "Master's Apprentices" is. Not only does it just plod and plod and plod, but nothing about it leaves any impression whatsoever. It doesn't have nearly as much atmosphere as the title track, not nearly as much tempo variation as "Wreath," and certainly not nearly as much interest in dynamics as "A Fair Judgement" did. Most of the heavier portion of the song consists of multiple variations on its already-dull main riff, and the band members sound like they're simply going through the motions as there are never any instrumental surprises. The clean vocals around the 4-minute mark at least offer something different from the monotony, but that more-melodic section's very short-lived. As with many of their songs, the middle contains a folkier segment to lighten up the distortion, but it sounds like it could have been switched out with any other acoustic segment Opeth have performed. There's nothing really noteworthy except for some ambient guitar effects that arch over the acoustic strumming. The entire song is just plain horrendous, and it's baffling to me that it's still so acclaimed by the band's fanbase. "By the Pain I See in Others" isn't much better either, as it could have ended around the four-minute mark. Admittedly, the song doesn't start badly at all; in fact, the melodic line kicking it off sounds very inspired and suitably dark. The verses are a little odd, with distorted growling combined with soft acoustic guitar work, and the "choruses" (if you can call them that) are thunderous and almost akin to speed metal with the tempo they shift to. On top of this, the breakdown that follows is absolutely crushing, combining double bass and fast guitar picking with that speed metal-esque tempo mentioned before. However, this is where the song should have ended. The rest of the song is, for lack of a better way to say it, really damn boring. It rehashes all of the ideas from the previous songs and plods at the same time signature throughout. The soft moments are predictable and the heavy moments are extremely repetitive after being constantly thrown in your face.

It's a shame because this could have been one of Opeth's greatest albums. Unfortunately, this goes down as Opeth's worst effort because the second half brings it down completely. Even worse, Damnation isn't much better than this either; it would take the follow-up Ghost Reveries to get the band back on track before it was too late. As for this album, it's completely average; just download the first half and forget about the rest of it.

(Originally published for Sputnikmusic)

Review Nº 379

"Deliverance" is the sixth studio album of Opeth and was released in 2002. It was recorded at the same time that was recorded their follower seventh studio album "Damnation", but it was only released in the following year. However, the two studio albums contrast completely and drastically with each other, purposely dividing the group's two most prevalent musical styles. While "Deliverance" is considered to be as one of the band's heaviest and aggressive studio albums, "Damnation" experiments with a much soft, acoustic and mellower progressive rock influenced sound.

Originally, the group intended for "Deliverance" and "Damnation" to be released at the same time, as a double studio album. However, the record company decided against this idea and released both albums separately, approximately five months apart from one to the other, in order to promote each of them properly, in order to earn more money.

There are two curiosities on "Deliverance". The track "Master's Apprentices" was named due to the name of a proto- prog Australian group of the 60's The Masters Apprentices. The track "For Absent Friends" was named because the song of the same name that originally appeared on the third studio album of Genesis "Nursery Cryme", in 1971.

The line up on the album is Mikael Akerfeldt (vocals and guitars), Peter Lindgren (guitar), Martin Mendez (bass guitar) and Martin Lopez (drums and percussion). The album has also the collaboration of Steven Wilson (backing vocals, guitars, Mellotron, piano and keyboards).

"Deliverance" has six tracks. All songs were written and composed by Mikael Akerfeldt. The first track "Wreath" is one of the heaviest songs that Opeth have ever recorded. It's a fast upbeat song and one of the less melodic too. However, even thought this can be considered one of their heaviest songs, it does have its softer and melodic moments too. This song is really a phenomenal work with its musical atmosphere absolutely devastating, sounding like a piece of music depicting the end of the world. This is really a great track. The second track is the title track "Deliverance". This is a track with a very sinister sound. It's not only the lyrics or the music that makes this song really sounds very evil, but the way how Akerfeldt sings is absolutely strange, amazing and terrifying. The lyrics are just beautiful, describing very accurately and vividly the intentions and actions that are taking place. This is another great track that continues giving a very high note to the album. The third track "A Fair Judgement" is the mellowest song on the album. It starts sounding like it's being played through an old radio. After about a minute and a quarter the song turns into a dreamy ballad, then progressing to a brilliant and heavy lead without seeming to change from mellow to heavy at all. This progression repeats throughout, with no rapid changes. This is Opeth at their best musical experimentation. The fourth track "For Absent friends" is very short and sounds more like a little acoustic interlude. It's basically a filler track, so there isn't a lot to say about it. What can be said is that it's a fairly harmless nice acoustic track with a clean electric lead player over it. It acts as a pretty and nice little intermission for the album and it serves as a neat way to bridge the gap between the two halves of the album and rest your ears a little. The fifth track "Master's Apprentices", despite its simplicity, can be considered as one of the best tracks of the album. The first main riff is one of those ones that have an unsophisticated charm and memorability, and even people that eventually dislike the track, I guarantee that there will be at least few days when you have this song in your head, and find yourself humming along with it. This is another great moment on the abum. The sixth and last track "By The Pain I See In Others" is a brilliant closing track to the album. Akerfeldt experiments with varied growls over an acoustic riff in the song, achieving a very nice sounding effect as a final result. The several musical transitions that have been used all over the song are very enjoyable to hear and they seem to seamlessly flow into each other. The acoustic transitions to the heavy parts are the most notable things here.

Conclusion: "Deliverance" is, in my humble opinion and I'm not a specialist into this kind of music, a great heavy metal album. It's also one of the best progressive metal, atmospheric metal and art rock albums ever. Unfortunately, Opeth's "Deliverance" is an often maligned album in their musical discography for many reasons. But, it's still certainly a very strong musical work in its own right, with some incredible songs that have their very own place in the Opeth's musical catalogue. This is an album with many enjoyable riffs and guitar solos. As usual and always, Akerfeldt's clean vocals are a real joy to listen to over the chaotic guitar riffs. Lopez's drumming, that at some moments reminds me the great John Bonham, is absolutely amazing, constantly innovating and contributing to an already excellent final work. Concluding, "Deliverance" is an excellent album and I hope that fans of good music will get it. Probably, it will be very interesting to have "Deliverance" and "Damnation" as a double studio album combining perfectly well the two musical sides of Opeth. As I like the both sides of the group, I'm going to rate both albums with the same rating. So, 4 stars.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Infamously, this was meant to be a double album with Damnation, which had all the quieter songs on it, but the record label wouldn't give them time to finish it properly. This does mean that as the album feels a little unbalanced - it's got more emphasis on the heavier side of Opeth's sound than Blackwater Park or Still Life did, and that wasn't intentional and can get slightly wearing, but on the whole it's still solid enough. By and large we're still in unambiguously prog metal realms, though Master's Apprentice is perhaps the most emphatic return of Opeth's death metal roots we'd been treated to since, say, My Arms, Your Hearse, or perhaps the harshest moments on Still Life.

It certainly shows the scars of its turbulent genesis, so I wouldn't put Deliverance on the level of Still Live or Blackwater Park; at the time of its release it was probably their weakest album since My Arms, Your Hearse. But hey, that was a pretty solid album - and so is this.