OPETH Deliverance CD (2002)

Opeth in 2002 were doing something most bands wouldn't attempt even with a blank cheque and a decade to plan it: death metal that needed a programme note. Deliverance is the heavier half of the sessions that also produced Damnation, and it is relentless in the best possible way.

Where Damnation went full prog acoustic, Deliverance doubled down on the weight. Akerfeldt's growl sits against arrangements that shift and breathe in ways that most progressive metal bands are still trying to figure out. The title track alone runs close to fourteen minutes and earns every second. This is the record that convinced a lot of people that death metal and genuine songwriting were not mutually exclusive. 2006 digipak pressing of the 2002 original.

CD in digipak format. Swedish prog/death metal. Originally released 2002, this pressing 2006.

Fans of: Katatonia, Porcupine Tree, Enslaved, Cynic, Isis