Review of the Album "Deliverance" by Swedish Progressive Death Metal Band Opeth

Deliverance is the 6^th studio album by Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth. It was released in 2002. The first song called Wreath is not as good as the song called “The Leper Affinity.” "The Wreath" is about a person that keeps on being dragged into a nightmare. One aspect that is difficult for listeners to do is to analyze the lyrics of this band. They seem to discuss many different subjects at once. We will have trouble keeping up with these songs. It may even be difficult to interpret the album’s title of deliverance.

There is a section in the song Wreath which has African style drumming in it. In addition to that style of drumming, there is a guitar part which is similar to songs that Dutch band The Gathering wrote in their career.

The next song Deliverance starts with some really fast drumming as the band tries to set the tone for the song. The song has an interesting time change very quickly in the beginning. The song’s mood changes to the soft, acoustic parts that we heard back in the Morningrise album. Normally, Opeth does not make such a quick shift from heavy to soft in the same song. The song does not address the concept of death in a literal sense. The lyrics are dark, showing how fragile life can be as we can lose it at any time.

"A Fair Judgement" is a song of a style that has not been seen by Opeth up until this point in the band’s career. The song begins for the first 1.5 minutes with piano being the dominant instrument. The tone changes as a very melodic riff takes the place of the piano. As the 4^th minute begins, we hear some predictable repetitive acoustic guitar but it is a nice, relaxing part from these talented Swedes. On the instrumental song called "For Absent Friends," you can clearly hear the progressive influence in the guitar work.

The album’s cover shows a small doll on the bed as a person with a mask on looks to see what is inside this house. The mask of the person that is looking into the house is exactly like Jason, the character in the famous Friday the 13^th movies. The cover suggests that we must be cautious of our surroundings in this world. Sometimes, there are people keeping an eye on others to spy on them.

The slower song "Master’s Apprentices" can be interpreted as being a song that describes a person that desires peace of mind, freedom from pain, and an end to the pain that continues to haunt him. A few notes in one of the riffs sounds like Pantera to me but otherwise the growling vocals and the heavy guitar show that Opeth sticks to their style. In the middle of the song, the riffs remind me of two bands: The Gathering and Theatre of Tragedy. As the song nears its end and the character in the song feeling like he is being sucked into a void, a huge growling vocal section is followed by Iron Maiden style melodies. The last song called "By the Pain I See in Others" is about a monster or creature that thrives on pain and suffering. How good of an album is Deliverance? It may be slightly better than Blackwater Park. It is better than My Arms Your Hearse. However it is not as good as the band’s first two albums.