Deliverance (Opeth album)

Deliverance is the sixth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 12 November 2002. It was recorded between 22 July and 4 September 2002, at the same time as Damnation, which was released five months after this album. The two albums contrast starkly with one another, purposely dividing the band's two most prevalent styles, as Deliverance is considered to be one of the band's heaviest albums, taking on a heavier and more brutal death metal-inspired sound, whereas Damnation experiments with a much mellower progressive rock-influenced sound.[8]

Deliverance
Cover art by Travis Smith
Studio album by
Opeth
Released12 November 2002 (2002-11-12)
Recorded22 July – 4 September 2002
Studio
Genre
Length61:45
LabelKoch, Music for Nations
ProducerMikael Åkerfeldt and Steven Wilson
Opeth chronology
Blackwater Park
(2001)		 Deliverance
(2002)		 Damnation
(2003)
Singles from Deliverance
  1. "Deliverance"
    Released: 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Brave Words8.5/10[4]
Chronicles of Chaos10/10[5]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[6]
Pitchfork8.7/10[7]
Sputnikmusic[2]

Background

The band originally intended for Deliverance and Damnation to be released as a double album, but the record company eventually decided against this and released them separately, approximately five months apart from one another in order to promote them properly. The recording sessions also became a writing session of two albums worth of material, causing the recordings to be long as there were no songs written prior to that point. Åkerfeldt wrote the songs in the night and recorded them with the band during the days.[9]

The track "Master's Apprentices" was named after the Australian hard/progressive rock group The Masters Apprentices.[10] "For Absent Friends" was named after a song on the album Nursery Cryme by progressive rock group Genesis.[11]

At the end of "By the Pain I See in Others", the final note fades slowly and ends at 10:40. Silence follows until 12:00, followed by two backmasked (hidden tracks) verses from "Master's Apprentices" at 12:00 and 13:15.

Production

The recording for Deliverance and Damnation was fraught with troubles. The band had originally started recording the album in Nacksving Studio, but the recording process was plagued, not just by a variety of technical issues ranging from equipment breaking down to drum mics changing positions or disappearing, but also internal band issues. Eventually, the band would return to Studio Fredman (upon which they would be joined by producer Steven Wilson) to finish off the record.[12][13]

During the recording process, Mikael Åkerfeldt's grandmother was killed in a car accident.[12] He would later dedicate both Deliverance and Damnation to her.[11]

Reception

Deliverance peaked on Top Heatseekers at No. 16 and the Top Independent Albums chart at No. 19, making it the first Opeth release ever to chart.[3] Opeth also won a Grammis Award for Best Hard Rock Performance after releasing the album.[14]

The album appeared on several lists of the best albums of 2002, including that of Kerrang!,[15] Metal Hammer[16] and Terrorizer.[17] In 2012, Loudwire ranked Deliverance as the third best album of 2002.[18] In March 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the title track number fifty-two on their list of "The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time"[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mikael Åkerfeldt[20]

No.TitleLength
1."Wreath"11:11
2."Deliverance"13:36
3."A Fair Judgement"10:21
4."For Absent Friends" (instrumental)2:17
5."Master's Apprentices"10:30
6."By the Pain I See in Others"13:50
Total length:61:45

Personnel

Opeth

Additional personnel

Chart positions

Monthly
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Poland (ZPAV Top 100) 60[21]

References
  1. "DELIVERANCE - 2002". Opeth.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  2. "Opeth - Deliverance". Sputnikmusic. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  3. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r614742
  4. Popoff, MArtin (17 October 2002). "Opeth - Deliverance". Brave Words. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  5. Kalis, Quentin (31 May 2003). "Opeth - Blackwater Park". Chronicles of Chaos.
  6. Archived 30 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Raggett, Ned (20 April 2012). "Opeth Blackwater Park [Legacy Edition]". Pitchfork.
  8. Lamentations DVD: "The Making of Deliverance and Damnation" documentary
  9. "Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?". YouTube.
  10. Collin (October 2003). "Opeth Interview". MetalStorm. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  11. "Opeth - Trivia".
  12. Åkerfeldt, Mikael. "Deliverance - Diary". Opeth. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  13. "Mikael Akerfeldt of Swedish Metal Band Opeth Recounts Recording Their Classic 'Deliverance' & 'Damnation' Albums". Billboard. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  14. "GRAMMIS-VINNARE GENOM ÅREN – 1969-2010" [Grammy-Winner Through Years - 1969-2010] (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI-se. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  15. "Rocklist.net...Kerrang! Lists Page 1".
  16. "Rocklist.net...Metal Hammer Albums the Year".
  17. "Rocklist.net....Terrorizer Magazine".
  18. "Top 10 Albums of 2002". Loudwire.
  19. "The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  20. "Opeth official website discography". Opeth.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  21. "TOP 100 - Zestawienie miesięczne za maj 2003" (in Polish). zpav.pl. Archived from the original on 14 June 2003. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
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