Opeth - Deliverance
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Free Music Notes for Deliverance
Free Music Review: Solid, emotional, and heavy, yet it remains Opeth's least ambitious work
Hit: 5 Stars
For those of you who are new to Opeth, this band is truley in a league of its own. Their music remians true to progressive death metal, however it drifts to emotional corners of the human mind that I, frankly, have never experieneced before. Both clean singing and chaotic growling vocals create an aura like no other. At times, voraciously heavy, and others, melodic, ambient, and beautiful, Opeth deliver such diverse, jaw dropping arrangements that it would be justafiable to label them amonsgt great composers such as Shostakovich, Stravinski, or Mahler.
Beyond the point, _Deliverance_ is part of a two piece work, being before the beautiful, soft, non-metal record _Damnation_. It is meant to be the "heavy" side of Opeth, however, it is a crime to label a side of Opeth with one word. _Deliverance_ could be labeled as technical, experimental, chaotic, discombobulated, direct and intense. From the opening track "Wreath", considered to be one of the, if not the, heaviest Opeth tracks, to the closing track "By The Pain I See In Others", to the title track "Deliverance", this record delivers hard-hitting, emotional pieces, with a slight less emphasis on the dark, poetic aspect of Opeth. With records like _Blackwater Park_ and _Still Life_, such a mood was set that, when listening, you go beyond the music, and into another demension. _Deliverance_ slightly missed this queue, though I'm sure Akerfeldt and co. intended that. This album is more about the music, from the technical, lightning riffs, to the complex, intricate drumming, _Deliverance_ does kick some serious arse from start to finish. With the exception of the balad-ish, soft, ambient track "A Fair Judgement" and the short instrumental "For Absent Friends", Akerfeldt creates some intense growling/screaming that could be seen as his finest voal moments. All in all, This record takes you on a musical journey which manages to keep your attention from start to finish; a rare thing for Opeth albums. It took me several listens to get into Records like _Morningrise_ _Orchid_ and _Still Life_.
Although my least favorite of Opeth's, _Deliverance_ is a must-own for any fans. If you're new to Opeth, though, start with _Blackwater Park_ or _Ghost Reveries_
LONG MAY OPETH CONTINUE!
Free Music Review: Some people don't know what Opeth is yet.
Hit: 5 Stars
Ok, I know what you're thinking. I just got this new Opeth cd, its called Deliverence. "Wow this is really heavy!" No. Duh. They announced they were releasing a heavy album and a mellow album. At first listen, you think they are totally death metal now. You're wrong. They don't even have a genre. They are Opeth, a genre that elludes and personifies what everyone wants out of music. Intense riffage interspersed with God-like melodies and clean vocals. "Wreath" has just ended, and you don't know what to think after hearing brutal drums at first and then bongos half way through. Then the title track emerges out of your speakers. You warm up to it, because it warms up to you. It continues and you're hoping it doesn't end. Then, it gets to the closing riff. You are in a trance now, intoxicated by music. You've never heard anything like this. Holy... poo. It ends, you catch your breath to the next track "A Fair Judgement." Beautiful. Pure magnificence. The song came out of nowhere and you don't want it to leave. But sadly it is only 10 and a half minutes long. Then comes an interlude instrumental by the name of "For Absent Friends." If you don't appreciate music, you won't like this song. If you can sit in a seat for more than 30 seconds without wanting to eat a rabbit, you will love this short piece. Then, out of Nowhere, Alaska comes "Master's Apprentices." It's heavier than your fat Aunt Helga, but somehow you love it just like you love her. Give it time and let it sink in. The cd is not over, even though you've invested about 50 minutes of your near worthless existence. There is still a 13 minute charm named "By the Pain I See in Others." It starts, you like. It continues, he adds vocal effect, you don't know what to think, yet you're still intrigued. Then it goes into some sort of circus riff. You remember calling this death metal, ... and Opeth are their own genre. You now like this song. In fact, you liked this whole cd, just like every other song that Opeth ever released. If you don't buy this, stop listening to music. Peace.Free Music Review: Without weak spots
Hit: 5 Stars
In some ways, "Deliverance" is Opeth's most unified and straightforward album. Though imbued with the trademark Opeth dynamism, the songs have impressive riff economy and stay tightly focused - no mean feat for a fistful of 13-minute songs. At the same time, however, "By the pain I see in others" might be the most experimental song the boys have yet recorded. Similarly, the previous unifying lyrical concepts are gone. So, as is the norm with Opeth, nothing is quite as it seems.What does remain, however, is their traditional excellence in songwriting. Though opener "Wreath" is deceptively "simple" with its looped sledgehammer riffs, it contains enough nuances to keep the listener on his toes. Together with the awesome title track, it serves to showcase the skills (and leg stamina. Does this guy never tire?) of drummer Martin Lopez, while the Morbid Angel-esque "Masters apprentices" allows Mikael Åkerfeldt to show off his vocal development. His voice is similarly used to great effect in the afforementioned "By the pain..." - death snarls over acoustic guitars are certainly an interesting novelty. The last song, the mellow "A fair judgement", is quite simply beautiful; though not quite as good as "To bid you farewell" off the "Morningrise" album, it is still one of Opeth's top ballads. The contrast to its neighbouring songs - "Deliverance" and Masters..." could not have been greater; this is the kind of light and shade that only Opeth can provide.
In summary, this album is pretty much a dream come true,down to the brooding and vaguely menacing cover art. The only quibble I have is that "By the pain..." is too long; they could have dropped the meaningless and overly proggy last five minutes, and the song would have benefitted greatly. However, that is minor stuff. A both achingly beautiful and brutally pummeling album, "Deliverance" is a must-have.
Free Music Review: The View is Lonely From The Top.
Hit: 5 Stars
If you can name another band that's making metal as powerful, vital, multitextured, emotionally vibrant or just plain important as Opeth, i'd like to hear the nominees. This record smokes from beginning to end, pausing briefly in the middle to bear down the flames for a much needed repast and simmer, but overall showcasing some of the most tight and amazing movements of their career. Openers "Wreath" and the titular "Deliverance" come out of the gate screaming; the latter starts out like Emporer, streaks through a forest full of Porcupine Trees and ends up kicking Meshuggah in the face. (Drummers, remember this name : MARTIN LOPEZ. He's priming to give current cause celebre Portnoy a good shakedown. ) "A Fair Judgement", perhaps the most ambitious and rewarding track, is notable for its gentle, swinging 6/4 floydian-shuffle, slow build, genuinely riveting Mikael Akerfeldt solos and its epic closing riffs, which evoke the glorious, doomy days of Candlemass. The album closes with the jagged, complex puzzle "By The Pain I See In Others", which shows the most imaginative production on the album - especially the raspy, electronically-treated growl of Akerfeldt. What's most impressive about this band is how they grow with even more careful refinement in their craft with their multilayered, prog-influenced songwriting, even if the songs are largely not a departure from _Still Life_ or _Blackwater Park_. The transitions are even more seamless than before and the production is even tighter. Best of all, having survived my first Opeth show on this tour, I can say that this band is razor-sharp and perfectly capable of devastating any listener with its most ambitious material live. With this only being the first (and darker) chapter of a planned two-CD release (the second of which, _Damnation_, is promised later this year), this album (and band) is a thrill ride that no self-proclaimed metal fan has any conceivable excuse to miss.Free Music Review: Don't be so quick to reject it...
Hit: 5 Stars
I have to admit that when I first spun this album up in the CD player, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting Opeth's new album to build on the beautiful complexity that made Blackwater Park my favorite album. Instead, they seemed to have done away with a lot of it. Sure, I enjoyed every song, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Opeth had lost something. Then, I reached "For Absent Friends". The sheer beauty made me stop and think "Wait a second- this really IS a good album. And then I realized what made this one so different.As previously said, Deliverance is a bit simpler compared to Blackwater Park. The guitars aren't nearly as intricately layered, and the music doesn't change as often. Instead, Deliverance is full of more neo-metal dissonance and aggression, ala Nothingface. There are a whole lot more purely dissonant guitar parts (just listen to the opening of the song "Deliverance") and the guitars are much more rhythmic and at times are treated as percussion instruments. The drumming is more aggressive and hell-bent than I've ever heard out of Opeth, with a very liberal use of the double bass. If you listen very, very closely, you can hear at times hints of a keyboard accenting some notes.
Opeth's mellow parts have also been touched by change. Compared to Blackwater Park's mellow stretches, Deliverance's are actually more complex in my opinion- much more avant-garde and unpredictable, with an incredibly fresh, unique combination of notes. Opeth also does a little experimentation with the major scale, believe it or not. Rest assured it's still not "happy music".
So, simpler and more aggressive heavy stuff; more unique and unconventional mellow stuff: depending on what you look for in your Opeth, Deliverance will either be a minor disapointment that grows on you quickly or a truly awesome album. Hey, I sure grew to love it. I'm looking foreward to Damnation, how 'bout you?