As Above - So Below by Deliverance

Over a decade of aggressive touring, exposure in the mainstream markets, and 12 albums later, Deliverance continues to hold icon status among legions of metal enthusiasts world-wide.

In spite of years of rumor-filled message boards and relentless requests from fans, this is the first new Deliverance album from vocalist Jimmy Brown and company since 2001. Never has Retroactive Records been privileged to release an album met with such fan appreciation and unbridled anticipation! Jimmy knew how high fan expectations would be for a new release, and has worked relentlessly with the band for over a year to deliver Retroactive Records an album that would not only delight, but astound fans….an album that would hold up under the most scrutinizing fan critique. Jimmy’s goal was to create the greatest Deliverance record of all-time; a culmination of a brilliant career, while continuing to break new ground.

As Above ~ So Below is a prayer that things would be on earth, as they are in heaven. Musically, this 13th album represents a unilateral step forward in the heavy music genre; few groups have ever blended epic thrash / speed metal with the elegance and beauty of progressive metal (later period Deliverance) with such devastating skill and brutality. Never has a Deliverance album alternated so many moments of beauty (e.g.The Omen inspired opening track) with beastly moments of metallic fury and spine snapping riffs that would seem right at home on a Slayer, Believer, or early Deliverance album.

The end result is arguably the heaviest Deliverance album yet. Jimmy continues to deliver vocal melodies that are as commanding as a thundering voice from above. What no one could have anticipated is that the band would deliver one of the most enormous-sounding metal records ever made. In our minds, it seems like the album is a piece of heaven here on earth, which, ironically means that the album is an answer to it’s own prayer!

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Deliverance deserves to rank among the more influential bands in the history of Christian metal. Hitting the scene with the melodic speed metal and thrash of its self-titled debut in 1989, the group returned a year later with more of the same on the groundbreaking release Weapons Of Our Warfare. The erratic What A Joke followed in 1991 before Deliverance went through a transitional phase that saw it drift away from the speed metal and thrash leanings of its earlier efforts. The end result was Stay Of Execution. Released in 1992, the album showcased a straightforward heavy metal sound that would prove a precursor to the bands work that would follow. Learn from 1993, for example, was highly acclaimed album that delivered a blend of metal and hard rock with a progressive edge. The polished but slightly subdued River Disturbance (1994) preceded Camelot In Smithereens (1995), a melancholic piece heading in a guitar driven direction that hearkened back to Learn and Stay Of Execution. Deliverance proceeded to go on hiatus until 2001 when it came back to recorded the industrial influenced hard rock of Assimilation.

After the passage of six long years, however, I am proud to announce the return of Deliverance and its ninth full length studio release in As Above – So Below. Showcasing a guitar driven sound that is perhaps the heaviest of Deliverance’s career, the album can best be described as a creative blending of the aggressive and melodic certain to appeal to fans of all eras of the bands history. Those into “old school” Deliverance – such as the self-titled debut and Weapons Of Our Warfare – will rejoice at the thrash influenced sounds of “Cause & Effect”, “Return To Form” and “Should We Cross Paths”. But fans of the metal and hard rock offerings of Stay Of Execution and Learn, on the other hand, will find a home here as well. “As Above – “So Below”, “My Love” and “Enlighten Me” all deliver an abundance of melody, while “Screaming” is a somber piece that sounds as if it came off Camelot In Smithereens. “Contempt” rides a fine line between heavy metal and thrash. As Above – So Below even finds the band stretching and composing an incredible eleven minute instrumental entitled “Thistles” (one of this reviewers favorite songs off the album).

I might describe the vocal performance of founding member Jimmy P. Brown II as a blend of the doom-laden and melancholic, alternating between a delivery that is smooth sounding (such as the albums melodic material) and at times gruff (on its more aggressive sounding tracks). Brown combines with lead guitarist Mike Phillips (who was part of the band at the time of Stay Of Execution) for an excess of upfront rhythm guitar that, again, helps to make this one of Deliverance’s heaviest outings. If lead guitar is your cup of tea then look no further than the impassioned soloing abilities of Phillips. Choice tracks highlighting his lead work include “Return To Form”, “Screaming” and “My Love”. It is worth noting that Brown has worked with some very fine guitarists over the years – Glenn Rogers from the self-titled debut and George Ochoa (who performed on Weapons Of Our Warfare) – but Phillips puts them all to shame.

The performance of the rhythm section of bassist Tim Kronyak and drummer Mike Reed is monstrous. And it has to be in order to stand in support of music of such a heavy duty capacity. Reed is a no-nonsense timekeeper who literally batters his drum kit into oblivion, always adding the right buttressing touch without overplaying. Kevin Lee (who also was part of Deliverance at the time of Stay Of Execution) makes a guest appearance on three tracks and puts forth a showing every bit as assertive.

Production values are of a polished variety but not so much as to take away from the bands natural and all out raw energy.

The album opens to “Legum Servi Sumus Ut Liberi Esse Possimus (Intro)”, a cinematic instrumental carried its distance by a blend of keyboards and orchestration sustained by a resounding low end.

“Cause & Effect” is a thrash flavored track that would sound right at home on Weapons Of Our Warfare. The song begins to a forward swell of rhythm guitar that shores up its first verse in unrelenting fashion, the pace abruptly picking up as a hard hitting chorus backed by a deluge of double bass is obtained. What we have here might not be the albums catchiest number but it certainly isn’t lacking in power.

And the same can be said for “Return To Form”. A heavy duty number that also reflects a thrash feel, this one almost comes across hardcore – do I dare say modern? – in capacity with its harshly delivered verse portions and a chorus that continually repeats the songs title in an aggressive manner. Phillips pulls out all the stops on lead guitar. The lyrics here are every bit as biting as the music:

A tour de force, the old school returns to form

Sounds to me like an overdose of chloroform

I’ve read beliefs and values that bend the scene

A fine line between ideals and obscene

The people say they want the past come born again

Regurgitate the truth from lies, see how it bends

Plagiarize the greatest story ever told

Play the bluff on the cards to see who folds

“As Above – So Below” showcases a blend of metal and hard rock not unlike that of Stay Of Execution and Learn. A metal edged rhythm guitar pushes the song ahead at a mid-tempo clip from the start, the resonant environment upheld for a catchy chorus giving rise to an abundance of draw you in appeal. Deep and dark but heavy at the same time, “As Above – So Below” rates with the albums better compositions. The song reflects the heart of the Psalmist:

Let the mountains shake and the rocks declare Your glory

As it is with You, so mote it be with me

Let the rivers run strong and all nature bow with humility

As it is with You, so mote it be with me

“Screaming” is a slower and more somber piece that awakens memories of Camelot In Smithereens. Another mid-tempo setting is established as the song steadily toils through its first verse, the poignantly charged chorus that follows accentuated by the emotional feel to Brown’s vocal delivery. A great deal of melody and emotion imbues this one along with a stretch of lead work from Phillips that almost comes across bluesy in capacity. “Screaming” reflects upon a nightmare:

Silence In The Night, In between the compass readings

Pages turn in my head, and keeps my mind breathing

My eyes close, I take the night flight once again

To where my dreams turn so real, and feel the coming rain

Screaming out, intensity builds

Running from my fear of Hell

Trapped inside pounding walls

By this power, will I be held?

“Should We Cross Paths” returns the album to its earlier thrash direction. The song emanates an excess of determination during its verse portions as a muscular guitar riff is allowed to lead the way. A chorus of a combative nature, at the same time, almost reflects some extreme touches as a result of the forceful feel to its delivery. This is the most aggressive Deliverance we have heard in a long, long time. Once again, the lyrics here are in line with the aggressive nature of the music:

You have done us wrong, no more will we take

The chips are all in, there’s too much at stake

Your raping force has caused nothing to lose

Your waiting demise will be courting the muse

We’ve had all we can take! Nothing more to have!

The world disintegrates, should we cross paths!

The best way to describe “Contempt” would be classic metal with a touch of thrash. A hammering guitar riff drives the song through its first verse in uneasy fashion, a trace of chanted vocal harmonies highlighting the mix as the pace picks up for a chorus in which a disordered environment is put into place. Phillips adorns the scene with several seconds of blistering lead guitar work. Am I out of line to suggest that “Contempt” talks about misplaced priorities? Please consider the following lines as an example:

You prayed for the well, while the sick couldn’t make it to the stage

Performed ill-licensed counsel while playing the role of a sage

Take a knee and learn to submit, it’s the only way!

You said it was to God, but somehow you were always in the way

One of the highlights to As Above – So Below is the instrumental “Thistles”, an eleven minute masterpiece allowing Brown and Phillips to showcase their tight as a nail skills on guitar. The song begins its first minute and a half to a quietly played guitar line as a punchy bass guitar decorates the background. As momentum slowly builds, a wave of rhythm guitar crashes into the mix and impels things forward with full force. Several time changes are made by the song, including a run of gritty work on lead guitar and a move towards an acoustic based direction over its final four minutes. Despite its length, “Thistles” never turns into a tiresome listen.

Mid-nineties Deliverance at its very best, “My Love” jumps out of the gate in a pummeling manner, crashing its way ahead to an ardent blend of sledgehammer riffing and pelting drums. A flowing chorus giving rise to an impassioned touch will pull you in and refuse to let go. Reed goes absolutely nuts behind the drum kit here, as does Phillips who contributes a solo of the spirited variety. “My Love” focuses on a long term and endearing love:

Alas, the years have, have fallen upon us

Thru the storms and seeing the lighted end

Weight lifted in time for the rush

Remember when you first came into my sight

I fell just like a dream it seams so long ago

Conscience, it did not take long

To see all that you were to me

My love, all that I am is yours…

“Enlightened” comes across aggressive but melodic at the same time. The song immediately kicks in fast and heavy, plowing its way ahead with a plethora of determination only to briefly decelerate for a hook driven chorus reinforced by an angst laden wall of rhythm guitar. Phillips steps forward and again proves why he is the most able lead players to grace Deliverance’s storied line up. This is a buzz saw of a track that proves a fitting end to a noteworthy come back release from Deliverance.

Review by: Andrew Rockwell

Track Listing: “Legum Servi Sumus Ut Liberi Esse Possimus (Intro)” (3:39), “Cause & Effect” (4:03), “Return To Form” (4:05), “As Above – So Below” (4:46), “Screaming” (4:33), “Should We Cross Paths” (4:02), “Contempt” (4:02), “Thistles” (11:21), “My Love” (4:59), “Enlightened” (5:32)

Musicians

Jimmy P. Brown II – Lead Vocals & Guitars

Mike Phillips – Guitars

Tim Kronyak – Bass

Mike Reed – Drums

Guest Musicians

Jeff Whiting & Trevor Shannon – Piano & Strings Arrangements

Average Customer Review: 5