Deliverance (metal band)

For other uses, see Deliverance (disambiguation).

Deliverance

Deliverance is an American Christian thrash metal band which later shifted more towards heavy metal and progressive metal. Founded by Jimmy P. Brown II in 1985, although many members have either stayed in the lineup for a number of years, or left and returned to the lineup, Jimmy P Brown II is the only persistent member of Deliverance.

History

Speed Metal Period

Deliverance formed in the 1985 as a speed metal outfit, where the Christian metal community first encountered them on the compilation album California Metal. They put forth their self-titled debut album Deliverance in 1989 with Jimmy P Brown II (guitars and lead vocals), Glenn Rogers (lead guitar), Brian Khairullah (bass), and Chris Hyde (drums). In 1989, Deliverance's track "If You Will" from their self-title album appeared on Hot Metal Summer II along with a recorded interview.

Deliverance garnered significant attention in the Christian metal community with their 1990 release Weapons of Our Warfare. During this time, the band replaced guitarist Glenn Rogers with George Ochoa. Deliverance released a video on MTV for the title track of Weapons. The track was also included on Intense Records compilation album Hot Metal Summer III Hot Licks - Cold Facts.

During the production of their third album, What A Joke, Brian Khairullah and Chris Hyde were replaced with Mike Grato and Kevin Lee respectively. The album did not perform as well, and tensions within the band resulted in the departure of George Ochoa.

Style Change

Their fourth album was a major change in direction for the band musically. "Stay of Execution" went in a more progressive metal direction, complete with new guitarist Mike Phillips.

In an interview with Doug Van Pelt of HM Magazine, when asked about the musical change, Jimmy P. Brown explained:

"I got tired of being labeled "Oh, there's Deliverance.... the Metallica clones are back." You know, that got really old. Because in a sense we were kind of ripping them off. But I definitely know that the Lord wants us to be original. I want to be original. So I think it was time."

— HM Video Magazine

While this move did anger fans at the time, others feel that Stay represents Deliverance's best work. Their fifth album, Learn, continued in a progressive direction with new bassist Manny Morales and writer / lead guitarist Jonathan Maddux. From this time on, the other positions in the band changed with increasing frequency, but the core of the band remained Jimmy Brown and Manny Morales.

Deliverance released River Disturbance in 1994 and Camelot in Smithereens in 1995. "Camelot" was the poorest seller in the Deliverance catalog at the time.

Into a New Millennium

Deliverance disappeared until 2001, when they released their next studio album, Assimilation. Assimilation represented another change in style. Deliverance again retreated until 2006.

In 2006 Deliverance reformed with a lineup of Jimmy P. Brown II, Mike Phillips, Corin Jae Scott, Tim Kronyak, and Mike Reed. The band's then released As Above - So Below was released on April 24, 2007. Full length songs from the album can currently be heard on the band's official MySpace page. The album featured a mix of all their past material (musically) with some more modern metal elements.

Deliverance announced they will be releasing a new album sometime in 2010 called "The Annals of Subterfuge." This will mark Deliverance's 25th Anniversary. Though rumors persist of reuniting with past members, it appears that Jimmy will be recording the upcoming album with Mike Phillips.

Though the group officially disbanded in 1996, there have been fan demands for concert performances and new albums which caused the intermittent reunions every 4–5 years. Jimmy P. Brown II has spent the past 10 years working in the casino industry in Las Vegas, but currently resides in Alabama continuing his career with the casino industry. Jimmy has been quoted as saying: "I moved to Alabama to be close with my family, and to try regain normalcy for my family. Having lived in the fantasy land of Las Vegas for the past 10 years, I wanted to stay in the casino biz, but didn't want my kids growing up the Vegas way".

The End

On May 20, 2011 Mike Phillips announced that Deliverance was finally coming to end and would be performing ther final show in August of 2011.

Greetings to all fans of the Big "D"... We have a bitter/sweet message for you all...

After much thought and discussion Jimmy P. Brown II (Founding Member of Deliverance) has decided to bring a close once and for all to the band we all know and love as Deliverance! Jimmy feels at this time that it would be best for all of us if we bring this to an official close rather than simply fade away into obscurity. All the members of Deliverance have families and work commitments which make it hard to book shows and try to adhere to recording commitments, etc...

There is a great deal of peace in our hearts about this decision. No bitter disagreements, no tragic demise or anything of the sort. We all remain very good friends! I think we all wish we could time warp 20 years and maybe it would be different, however it is what it is...

As Jimmy said to me "Deliverance had its day" and a darn good one! I feel extremely privileged to have been a part of one of the Titans in Christian Metal! Jimmy and I will continue working together on various projects but the Deliverance chapter is closed, and the final writ finally put into the "Book Ends"...

As I said it is bitter/sweet, but we know this is the right thing for all of us involved.

The Godzfest show on August 22, 2011 in Florida was announced as the last show Delieverance would be performing live.

Outside Deliverance

After Deliverance, Jimmy Brown started to work on his new line-up, electronica-industrial-gothic group Fearful Symmetry. The name is taken from the poem "The Tyger" by William Blake. The group has published two albums, This Sad Veil of Tears in 2002 and A Loss of Balance in 2005.

Also in 2005, Jimmy formed a outfit called Jupiter VI along with Brian Khairullah, Trevor Shannon, Mike Reed and Tiberius Ahan. This band provided an outlet for Jimmy to express his love for glam rock, cited influences from Bowie, T-Rex, DA, Iggy Pop and others from the genre. They released one album titled "Back From Mars". Jupiter VI is currently working on their second release titled "A Message From Home Pt. I".

Brian Khairullah, former bass guitarist, has since renounced his faith and has unflattering things to say about religion.

References To Queensrÿche

Jimmy P Brown II has made several references to Queensrÿche throughout his career in Deliverance, not the least of which is the band name itself, taken from the title to track 3 on Queensrÿche's 1984 album, The Warning. Jimmy has never been bashful about honoring other musicians who have influenced him greatly. Along with his true musical heroes, David Bowie and Terry Scott Taylor, there is no question that Jimmy's greatest band influence will always be Queensrÿche. Other references include:

Lord of Dreams, track 7 from their 1992 album, "Stay of Execution" contains the lyric "dream control is so hard to achieve, mastered through some evil scheme". A direct reference to Queensrÿche's 1990 super hit "Silent Lucidity", track 8 from the album "Empire" where in the lyrics say "if you persist in your efforts, you can achieve Dream Control". Both the Deliverance and Queensrÿche songs are dealing with dreams.

Renew, track 5 from their 1993 album, "Learn", contains the phrase, "Even dead you still seem sad," a reference to the line "Even in death you still look sad" from Electric Requiem, track 10 from Queensrÿche's 1988 album, "Operation: Mindcrime".

Speed Of Light, track 5 from their 1994 album, "River Disturbance", contains the phrase, "Until we see your shadow casting on us once again," a reference to the line, "Oh let me see you standing in the shadows once again" from London, track 9 from Queensrÿche's 1986 album, "Rage for Order".

Assimilation, track 3 from their 2001 album of the same name contains the phrase, "Screaming In Digital," a reference to the song title of track 10 from Queensrÿche's 1986 album, "Rage for Order".

Criticism

Along with other Christian Metal groups, Deliverance was often accused of copying mainstream bands. Most notably, they were criticized for copying Metallica's style. Jimmy Brown brought this up in multiple interviews, noting the band was mocked as "Metalliclones."

Although it has been rumored that Jimmy P. Brown II is hard to work with, most of his relationships with former band members seem to be of mutual respect.

Discography

Studio albums

• Deliverance (1989, Intense Records)
• Weapons of Our Warfare (1990, Intense Records)
• What a Joke (1991, Intense Records)
• Stay of Execution (1992, Intense Records)
• Learn (1993, Intense Records)
• River Disturbance (1994, Brainstorm Artists, Intl)
• Camelot in Smithereens (1995, Intense Records)
• Assimilation (2001, Indie Dream Records)
• As Above - So Below (2007, Retroactive Records)
• The Annals of Subterfuge (2010, Retroactive Records)

Other albums

• Intense Records Presents: Recorded Live, Vol. 1 (1992, Intense Records)
• A Decade of Deliverance compilation (1994, Intense Records)
• Back In The Day: The First Four Years compilation (2000, Magdalene Records)
• Greetings of Death compilation (2001, Magdalene) (2007, Retroactive Records)
• Live at Cornerstone 2001 (2001, Magdalene Records)
• The First Four Years renamed reissue of the 2000 release (2007, Magdalene Records)

Other Releases

• Hot Metal Summer II Sex, Drugs & Rock n' Roll (1989, compilation on Frontline Records)
• Hot Metal Summer III Hot Licks - Cold Facts (1990, compilation on Intense Records)
• Hot Metal Summer 4 The Video (1991, VHS video Intense Records)
• I Predict A Clone (1994, tribute to Steve Taylor)

Members of Deliverance

Current members

• Jimmy P. Brown II - Vocals, Guitars (1985–1996) (2001–2002) (2006–Present)
• Mike Phillips - Guitars (1991–1993) (2006–Present)
• Tim Kronyak - Bass (2006–Present)
• Mike Reed - Drums (2007–Present)

Former members

Guitars

• Larry Farkas - Guitars (1985–1987)
• Glenn Rogers [1] - Guitars (1985–1989)
• George Ochoa - Guitars (1990–1991)
• Jonathan Maddux - Guitars, Keyboards (1993–1995)
• Matt Winslow - Lead Guitar (1995)
• Marcus N. Colon - Guitars (1995–1996)
• Eric Bradfield - Guitars (1995–1996)
• Lael Clark - Guitars (2001–2002)

Bass

• Brian Khairullah - Bass (1985–1989)
• Manny Morales - Bass (1993–1995) (2001–2002)
• Mike Grato - Bass (1991–1992)

Drums

• Chris Hyde - Drums (1985–1990)
• John Gonzales - Drums (1991)(Stand in for Weapons of our Warfare Video)
• Jim Chaffin - Drums (1990–1991)
• Kevin Lee - Drums (1991–1993)
• Jon Knox - Drums (1993–1995)
• Ian Baird - Drums (2001–2002)

Keyboards

• David Gilbreath - Keyboards (2001–2002)

Studio Members

• Jim Calvert - Drums (2001)
• Justin DeTie - guitars (2001)
• Jesse Rivera - Drums (deceased 2006)

Visual Timeline of Members

References

• Hale, Mark (1993). "0796". Headbangers (First edition, second printing ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan: Popular Culture, Ink. p. 92. ISBN 1-56075-029-4.
• Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 252. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.

External links

• Official Myspace
• Deliverance at AllMusic
• Deliverance at Metal Archives
• No Life Til Metal's Deliverance Page
• Deliverance at Firestream.net
• Music Video for Weapons of Our Warfare at Youtube