1989 was a pivotal year for thrash, as it concluded the 80s, and helped to usher in the "Headbanger's Ball" era, where thrash bands seemed to pop up all over MTV. Deliverance was one band who had regular rotation on MTV. Before Deliverance achieved popularity, with their album "Weapons of our Warfare", they released "Deliverance", a battle cry for the masses of thrashers hungering for something fresh.
Deliverance had elements of all the best thrash bands from back in the day: The vocal prowess and riffage of Death Angel, the sheer heaviness of Slayer, and the chops of "Puppets"-era Metallica. All if this topped with the melody of speed metal bands like Anthrax and Powermad. In fact, Jimmy P. Brown II's vocal shreiks may remind a listener of Joey Belladonna at times.
"Deliverance" was the band's young masterwork, an underground thrashterpiece, and a stone cold classic. It opens with a bang, as "Victory" blazes into the listener's ears. "No Time" and "Deliverance" add a melodic element to the scorching speed metal of the opening track. Then comes the thrash monster "If You Will", and it's midpaced followup "The Call". The next track "No Love", is definitely the standout here for me, with great lyrics and SCORCHING riffs. The rest of the album is great as well, with standout tracks being "Jehovah Jireh" and "Awake", which is a true thrash monster, and Jimmy Brown's best vocal piece on the album.
The Christian lyrics copntained heirein are candy to my ears, and are totally straightfoward. Some people may not like this, but the music itself is still so killer.
The downside of this album is that it can get a bit samey after a while. That's really it for me, as this is a GREAT thrash album.
So, next time you have an ache for some underground thrash, and you see this cheap online or at your local music shop, pick it up, it's worth it.
Highly Recommended
Blessings,
Josh
