Opeth: Mikael Akerfeldt (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Peter Lindgren (guitar); Martin Mendez (bass); Martin Lopez (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Steven Wilson (guitar, mellotron, background vocals).
Recorded at Nacksving Studios and Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden.
DELIVERANCE, Opeth's sixth studio effort, is actually the first part of an ambitious two-chapter opus from Sweden's masters of brutal, progressive metal. Opeth had a plan to release a two-album set: one disc composed of pure death metal, and the other an ambient acoustic disc. Label pressures forced the two to be separated, and the first part is DELIVERANCE, a six-song epic of some of the most impressive death metal released in the current decade. Once again produced by Steven Wilson, DELIVERANCE's sound is enhanced by Andy Sneap's (Arch Enemy, Cradle of Filth, Testament) incomparable mixing skills.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (3/6/03, p.71) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...OPETH create a shockingly beautiful thunder....Punishing, contemplative, haggard, blissful..."
CMJ (11/18/02, p.24) - "... [The songs] are carefully and corrosively articulated and show off as much bluster as they do beauty....DELIVERANCE is a chilling beauty that requires full attention..."
