Opeth

What’s new that can be said about Opeth? The Swedish quartet has made a string of brilliant metal records since the mid-’90s and surpasses expectations once again with Deliverance. Following the formula of their last album, 2001's Blackwater Park, the band has once again self-produced, with the assistance of Porcupine Tree main-man Steve Wilson and emerged with a winner. Unlike Blackwater Park, the band has regressed in sound a little bit this time around. While their previous album saw them heading into much more melodic, progressive territory with cleaner vocals, Deliverance finds the band playing with more finesse, and singer Mikael Akerfeldt has gone back to a more death metal-style of vocals with more growling. The songs are also longer, with five of the six songs clocking in at over ten minutes. No worries though, as this is another classic by the band.