Deliverance

Los Angeles-based Deliverance operates as a Christian, sometimes labeled white, metal outfit and should never be mistaken for the considerably less pious British group that shares the name. Vocalist, guitarist, and central creative force Jimmy Brown II assembled the lineup during the closing years of the 1980s; since then the roster has included more than a dozen transient players, among them Mortification guitarist George Ochoa, while the band’s artistic focus has shifted at intervals across an unusually steady sequence of releases. Their initial efforts—the self-titled 1989 debut, the 1990 album Weapons of Our Warfare, frequently cited as their strongest work, and 1992’s Stay of Execution—remained rooted in classic thrash and speed metal. By contrast, 1994’s River Disturbance incorporated alternative-rock leanings that enjoyed wider popularity than metal during that period. After issuing the more traditionally metallic Camelot in Smithereens in 1995, Brown dissolved the group and spent the rest of the decade fronting Fearful Symmetry. Interest in Deliverance persisted among white-metal listeners, evidenced by the favorable response to the 2000 archival set Greetings of Death, Etc., and this sustained demand prompted Brown to revive the band in 2001. The resulting album, Assimilation, featured longtime bassist Manny Morales alongside drummer and programmer David Gilbreath.