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MetalBite Review by Allan on 11/13/2002

When I first heard about Opeth releasing a double album, I was excited for what might come. It wasn’t because I’d have twice the amount of material to listen to (hey, I’m not complaining), but more because I’m hoping that after Åkerfeldt and Co. are done with the second half of this project, “Damnation”, they might be able to come out ahead farther than before. I’m hoping that “Damnation” gives them a new sense of song writing and musicianship, because honestly, watching Opeth’s progression from album to album is a little tedious. I’m certainly not denying that Opeth don’t improve, or at least change a little bit with each album they put out, but so much of it has stayed the same that the new album “Deliverance” barely even surprised me.

What makes “Deliverance” stand slightly apart from all the past efforts of Opeth is the heaviness. “Deliverance” is the heaviest of all the albums that Opeth has ever released, largely due to the fact that the lighter sections are less abundant. However, the fact that “Deliverance” has a much stronger rhythm section also increases the heaviness, as well as some of the riffs themselves.

There is more to “Deliverance” than it being the heaviest of all the Opeth albums. On “Deliverance” Åkerfeldt takes both his guitar and vocal ability up. As for the guitar, Åkerfeldt has thrown many more solos into the songs and they’re duration has increased. Unfortunately, Åkerfeldt also opted for a less acoustic approach on “Deliverance”, maybe because he felt it would hinder the albums ability to be heavy, or maybe because he wanted them to be exclusive to “Damnation”. Either way, it’s disappointing. Vocally, Åkerfeldt has improved in both of his styles – clean and death. While the clean vocals aren’t around as much before, when they do arise they generally tend to blow me away with the emotion that Åkerfeldt puts into them. And as always, Åkerfeldt’s death metal vocals are far beyond what others offer. Sinister and as powerful as ever, Åkerfeldt offers the class and polished sound that nobody else can offer.

Not everything about “Deliverance” is as good as one would hope. One of my biggest problems with “Deliverance” is the theme of the album, or lack thereof. Between the first two songs (‘Wreath’ and ‘Deliverance’) and the last two (‘Master’s Apprentices’ and ‘By The Pain I see In Others’) are two songs. The first, ‘A Fair Judgement’, is one of the best songs on all of “Deliverance”. The problem is that the song doesn’t completely fit in with the other songs, and along with it the somewhat lackluster instrumental ‘For Absent Friends’. Neither of the songs are all and all out of place, but both of them seem like the black sheep of the family.

“Deliverance” truly lacks the cohesion that Opeth reached with “Blackwater Park”, not only with the feel of song by song, but also by the turmoil created within each song itself. Usually the songs and transitions move along excellently, but when you get to a song like ‘By The Pain I See In Others’ where by the end of the song you’re switching gears every other second, you begin to get the feeling that Åkerfeldt just had to many riffs to work with. With that becoming a problem in many parts in each of the various songs, the songs begin to unravel and lose the emotion and feeling they started with. Even then that is another problem that clouds “Deliverance”. Overall I feel that “Deliverance” lacks a lot of the emotion that Opeth has been able to create in the past, maybe due to the atmosphere of the album not being as strong as it should be, or just the way the album was written.

Bottom Line: “Deliverance” is a really good album, however it’s exactly what you would expect from Opeth, and that’s where it hurts them. I was looking for more in “Deliverance” and when I didn’t find anything I didn’t expect, I was disappointed. I guess for now Opeth will remain a band that just stick to what they’re good at, and that is still respectable.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Submitted by Adam "Evil" on 11/28/2002

I finally purchased the latest offering from Opeth. I'm still getting used to it.

Points of notice:

1. Andy Sneap took the helm on mixing this dark album. His past credits: Stuck Mojo (Rising; Declaration of a Headhunter), Nevermore (Dead Heart in a Dead World), Arch Enemy (Wages of Sin), Testament (The Gathering), Skinlab (Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded; Disembody: The New Flesh). As expected, the Sneap mix is much crunchier than previous Opeth outings.
2. The use of acoustic guitars is noticeably lessened than on previous recordings. Perhaps this was intentional as this album is actually part one of a series of two, the second being a completely mellow album. Possibly then, for reasons of contrast, Mikael decided to increase the heaviness of Deliverance to convey the dynamical essence of Opeth's sound. By writing a heavier first album in Deliverance, then following with a mellow album, Damnation, maybe his intention was to seperate the two distinct qualities of Opeth and allow for more focused concentration on each.
3. Travis Smith's artwork is once again flawless. I believe Travis and Chad Michael Ward are the top artists for album covers. Travis has done too many to mention, a few being Soilwork (Natural Born Chaos), Devin Townsend (Terria), and Nevermore (Dead Heart in a Dead World). Chad is probably my favorite of the two with covers like Soilwork (The Chainheart Machine), Darkane (Rusted Angel), and In Thy Dreams (Highest Beauty).

Bottom line: I love Deliverance, but there's just something about it that I can't lay a finger on. Either something is omitted or added, and whether that's good or bad or if I can even determine what that something is waits to be seen.

Originality: 9
Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.4 out of 10

Submitted by Lestat on 11/30/2002

In my opinion the best Opeth album since "Still life". I dont know what all the hype was about "Black water park" since technicaly and emotionaly it didnt even step close to"Still life", and most of all was way more siple in song structures, which is not a way a band like Opeth should head. Thank Satan, on the new record the songs are better and more darker with a lot more solos. Michaels vocals indeed improved both ways. The growls are more poisenous than ever and clean vocals better than on previous record, even though not as often heard.What makes this album beter than the last offering is, I think the darkness that surrounds it. It is this album that should be called "Damnation", for it is surrounded by a evil atmosphere and its damned from the beginning to the end. Best song? I think "A Fair judgement", surely, one of Opeths better songs to date. Great offering from Opeth once again.

Submitted by JOE-THE-PROSECTOR on 1/1/2003

"OPETH"...gettin' in the top by this album...simply in six tracks with powerful fat riffs and many technical solos showing us that "OPETH" by their new album "DELIVERANCE" get in a high level with the other bands and i mean the big bands!...and i except comin' albums by this level and more...they RULE!!!

Submitted by David on 1/13/2003

'Deliverance' was an album that took more than one full listen to completely appreciate it.

Being a previous fan of Opeth, I had an idea of what to expect. I disagree with the main review here in the aspect of Opeth's improvement. Their progression does not seem "tedious" at all. 'My Arms Your Hearse' was more heavier and darker, 'Still Life' was an interesting album, backed with a good story and a large variety of styles. 'Blackwater Park' was simply amazing, combining all of Opeth's previous efforts and improving upon them - better riffs, more coherent songwriting, good album progression and better production.

Now with 'Deliverance', we have something that can be easily distinguished as being Opethian, but with a unique atmosphere - the differences are subtle, but they culminate to create a new experience. 'Deliverance' creates a feeling unlike previous Opeth "observations".

For starters it is much heavier. Even 'Blackwater Park' had its lighter moments, but few are to be found here. This is not a bad thing. Opeth has always put out excellent acoustic and lighter songs (Harvest, Benighted, Face of Melinda, etc) and we will get to hear more of this style on the upcoming album 'Damnation' or so I'm told. For now, it's good to sit back and revel in the darker side of Opeth.

Technically, Opeth has never sounded better, perhaps due to the production and mixing; (I heard somewhere that they used four guitars with low distortion mixed over top of each other for the heavier riffs), and the result is richer guitars, deeper death vocals, crisper clean vocals, and more clear instrumentation throughout. 'Blackwater Park' came close, but this is the epitome.

The first track, 'Wreath' is pure Opeth. Dozens of ideas are combined flawlessly into a veritable symphony. Although, being a fan of Opeth's long album intros, I wasn't quite taken by the abrupt intro to 'Wreath'. It doesn't matter. The song is all-encompassing, and reminds me why I listen to this music in the first place.

Track two, 'Deliverance' is apparantly becoming a fan favourite. I can see why - it's a great song. The drumwork here really stands out; Lopez is one hell of a drummer. Ackerfeldt's death vocals are in full swing, and they sound better than ever. To me, the part that really stands out is the last 4 or so minutes of this song, where the Lopez and Lindgren combine to create an almost hypnotic rhythm that concludes 'Deliverance'.

'A Fair Judgement' is the only softer song on the album (besides 'For Absent Friends' but that's another story), and it happens to be one of Opeth's best. Although I'm not too fond of the piano - I think that it could've been played a little more delicately and dynamically to create a more atmospheric effect - it opens the song nicely. Ackerfeldt's clean lyrics are also improving, and they carry this entire tune (no growling here). 'A Fair Judgement' is a beautiful song; it stands right up there with 'Face of Melinda'.

The next song, 'For Absent Friends', is good, but a bit of a let-down comparatively. They had a good idea - the Les Paul sounds great - but it could've used a little expansion, a little variety. Nevertheless, it stands as a good instrumental, and a great contrast to the next song, 'Master's Apprentices'.

'Master's Apprentices' is one of the heaviest songs we've seen from Opeth. The opening riff is nothing short of monstrous, and the death vocals match it perfectly. This song also features some excellent twin guitar melodies, an old staple of Opeth.

Finally, the album concludes with what is perhaps Opeth's strangest song to date, 'By The Pain I see In Others'. Opeth was obviously experimenting here, and have come up with some very interesting ideas. The watery vocals at the start were surprising, and I wouldn't mind hearing them again on future songs. The waltzy organ interlude was particulary odd, but somehow Opeth managed to blend it in to the rest of the song, and it sounds good. Although, as the concluding song, 'By The Pain I See In Others' might have had a more epic ending (as in 'Blackwater Park), but as it is, the ending is still quite dramatic.


I didn't appreciate 'Deliverance' at first. But after a few listens, it became obvious why this CD came with a sticker labeling Opeth "Metal's Most Brilliant Band". Each song on
'Deliverance' is unique, which creates the interesting feel - no skipping to the best songs here, because it's all amazing. In fact, I feel that Opeth's progression is anything but tedious. Since 'Orchard' they have improved the utmost amounts, and judging by 'Deliverance', it's only going to get better.