Music / Deliverance & Damnation

Deliverance

Damnation

Deliverance and Damnation are the sixth and seventh albums, respectively, by Swedish Progressive Metal band Opeth. Deliverance was released on November 12, 2002. Damnation was released on April 22, 2003. The two albums were produced as a Distinct Double Album - Deliverance being a heavier album, Damnation being a softer Progressive Rock album - but Executive Meddling from their label instead made the albums be released separately, roughly five months apart. The two albums were bundled together for their 2015 reissue, called Deliverance & Damnation.

Damnation is the band's first album to use keyboards extensively. As a result, Per Wiberg was hired as a touring keyboardist for the Damnation tour. He was promoted to full member for the follow-up album, 2005's Ghost Reveries, making him their first full-time keyboardist.

Tracklist:

Deliverance

1. "Wreath" (11:11)
2. "Deliverance" (13:36)
3. "A Fair Judgement" (10:21)
4. "For Absent Friends" (2:17)
5. "Master's Apprentices" (10:30)
6. "By the Pain I See in Others" (13:50)

Damnation

1. "Windowpane" (7:44)
2. "In My Time of Need" (5:46)
3. "Death Whispered a Lullaby" (5:49)
4. "Closure" (5:15)
5. "Hope Leaves" (4:27)
6. "To Rid the Disease" (6:18)
7. "Ending Credits" (3:36)
8. "Weakness" (4:08)

Musicians:

Opeth

• Mikael Akerfeldt: Lead vocals, guitar
• Peter Lindgren: Guitar
• Martin Mendez: Bass
• Martin Lopez: Drums

Additional Musicians

• Steven Wilson: Keyboards, backing vocals, additional guitar

Deliverance troped back at me:

• Album Closure:
  • Deliverance has the climactic "By the Pain I See in Others", which ends on a chord being held for about a minute and features a brief reprise of the carnival interlude.
  • Damnation ends with the minimalist yet somber "Weakness"
• Anaphora: "Master's Apprentices" has its verses begin each line with "there is a..."
  "There is a voice calling for me
  There is a light coming down on me
  There is a doubt that is clearing
  There is a day that is dawning
  There is a wound that is healing
  There is a season waiting for me
  There is a road that is turning
  There is a fire still burning
  [...]
  There is a peace I am searching
  There is a freedom I'm depending on
  There is a pain that's never ending
  There is a rain falling only on me
  There is a dream I am living
  There is a life I am dreaming of
  There is a death I'm awaiting
  There is a home I am deserting"
• Breather Episode:
  • "For Absent Friends" is a calm instrumental sandwiched between the melancholic "A Fair Judgement" and the heavy "Master's Apprentices".
  • The relatively upbeat instrumental "Ending Credits" appears between the spooky "To Rid the Disease" and the minimalist Downer Ending track "Weakness".
• Dies Wide Open: The protagonist in "To Rid the Disease" is implied to have known someone who had this happen to them.
  "I try not to care. Dead eyes always stare."
• Distinct Double Album: Deliverance is a heavier album resembling Opeth's usual sound at the time. Damnation is Lighter and Softer, containing no real metal elements and leaning more towards Progressive Rock.
• Downer Ending: Damnation ends the duology with "Weakness", a somber song about betrayal.
  "Weaker now, drawing fluid from me
  You kill me
  I'm not afraid of what you have just done
  But of what you've just become"
• Epic Rocking:
  • All but one track on Deliverance ("For Absent Friends") is longer than ten minutes.
  • The songs on Damnation are shorter, but "Windowpane" (7:44) and "To Rid the Disease" (6:18) still qualify.
• Fading into the Next Song: The piano at the end of "Deliverance" leads to the intro of "A Fair Judgement"
• Grief Song: Grief is a prominent theme in both albums, but "Hope Leaves" stands out.
  "And I know you'll never return to this place"
• Hidden Track: Deliverance has two back masked vocal tracks from "Master's Apprentices" about a minute apart, following a period of silence at the end of "By the Pain I See in Others".
• Irony: "Closure" has no closure.
• Last Note Nightmare: "A Fair Judgement" has a pause at the end of its last line, followed by a doomy riff that plays several times until it fades.
• Limited Lyrics Song: "Closure" has two stanzas at the beginning and just one more in the middle.
• Longest Song Goes First: "Windowpane" (7:44) is the longest song on Damnation.
• Minimalistic Cover Art: The cover of the reissue containing both albums is merely the Opeth "O" logo on a white background.
• New Sound Album: Damnation is a softer Progressive Rock album, albeit one not as pronounced as Opeth's prog-era albums from Heritage onward. It also uses keyboards more prominently than previous albums.
• No Ending: "Closure" abruptly segues into "Hope Leaves".
• Nothing Is Scarier:
  • There is about a minute of silence between the two hidden tracks at the end of Deliverance.
  • Invoked in "To Rid the Disease"
    "There's nobody here, there's nobody near"
• Shout-Out:
  • "For Absent Friends" is titled after a song by Genesis from Nursery Cryme.
  • "Master's Apprentices" is named for an Australian progressive rock group that once had a drummer who would later become a founding member of AC/DC.
• Songs of Solace: "In My Time of Need"
  "Would someone watch over me in my time of need"
• Song Style Shift:
  • The last two Deliverance songs stand out regarding the usual style for Opeth.
    • "Master's Apprentices" has a Morbid Angel-esque death metal riff that appears in the verses but also a lengthy acoustic midsection that abruptly cuts to a heavier climax.
    • "By the Pain I See in Others" is a complex but mainly heavy number that also has a carnival music interlude.
  • The Damnation songs are generally consistent, but live performances of "Closure" tend to extend the outro into a lengthy jam that contrasts the gentle vocal sections.

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