Friday 29th March 2024,
The Black Planet

DELIVERANCE – Chrst

Ricardo Pereira 11/10/2018 Comments Off on DELIVERANCE – Chrst

The French sludge/doom outfit Deliverance has an impressive curriculum for such a recent project. Formed in 2012, their debut EP “Doomsday Please” reached as far as being praised by Metal Injection. About five years later, the band releases their first LP, titled “CHRST”, which proved that Deliverance, albeit remaining rough around the edges, have what it takes to establish themselves as a solid band in its own right.

In short, “CHRST” is essentially a barrage of low-tempo down tuned chords, purposely dissonant leads and monochordic guttural vocals- This is laced with a slow-paced yet double-bass filled drums, forming that quintessential wall of heavy and continuous that characterizes modern doom metal. Deliverance pull off this venture essentially well, especially given the fact that CHRST is their debut album.

However, the album does suffer from minor inconveniences that ultimately dent what could otherwise be a flawless performance. Their composition skills don’t exactly bring anything new to the table, being somewhat overly repetitive – even for sludge/doom standards – and sort of run-of-the-mill in the context of the genre. In spite of that, the album also has a respectable amount of genuinely interesting and enjoyable riffs. Experimentation is somewhat absent here and some of the songs lack identity, something which does not improve with the lead singer’s constant monotone performance, both in terms of style and metrics.

Even though their composition skills are above average in some respects, with a very mature usage of details such as crescendos, punctual high-tempo tremolo riffs and dissonances that really get the listener into the typical dronish feeling that good doom provides.

The man in charge of mastering this album was none other than Cult Of Luna’s Magnus Lindbergh, which performed reasonably well despite the consistent lack of bass that is so important for Deliverance’s type of sound. In the end, one is left to wonder if such was an artistic choice, poor-quality recording, or simply lack of knowledge. Overall, “CHRST” is a solid debut, which already puts Deliverance above average when compared to most upcoming bands.

7/10

About Deliverance:

Facebook | Bandcamp

Review by Ricardo Pereira
Managing Editor: Rita Limede

Comments

comments

Like this Article? Share it!

About The Author

Comments are closed.