Deliverance (metal band)

Deliverance formed in 1985 as a speed metal outfit. The band's song "A Space Called You" appeared on the 1987 compilation album California Metal. Deliverance, the band's self-titled debut album, was released 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" appeared on the Hot Metal Summer II compilation album along with a recorded interview.

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

During the production of their third studio 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.

Their fourth studio 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[1]

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 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.

After a four-year hiatus, Deliverance resurfaced in 2000 and began recording their sixth studio album, Assimilation, which was released in the following year. Assimilation represented another change in style with a shift towards a more electronic/industrial sound. 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 seventh studio album, As Above - So Below, was released on April 24, 2007.[2] Full length songs from the album can currently be heard on the band's official MySpace page.[3] The album featured a mix of all their past material (musically) with some more modern metal elements.

Deliverance announced they would be releasing a new album sometime in 2010 called The Annals of Subterfuge. This would mark Deliverance's 25th Anniversary. Though rumors persist of reuniting with past members, it became apparent that Jimmy would 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".

In 2010, Deliverance played the only show without Jimmy P. Brown II at NordicFest.[4]

On May 20, 2011 Mike Phillips announced that Deliverance was finally coming to end and would be performing their final show in August 2011.[5] However, by July 2012, Deliverance had resurfaced again[6] and been working on their tenth studio album Hear What I Say!, which was released on September 3, 2013 on Roxx Records and was planned as their final album.[7][8] However, Jimmy Brown had later stated that Hear What I Say! would most likely not be their final album.[9]

Though Brown stated that Hear What I Say! would be the last album, he announced that Deliverance would release new material in 2016. The band, whose lineup consists of former guitarist George Ochoa, former drummer Jim Chaffin and bassist Victor Máciás, played Exodo Fest in Mexico with Silent Planet and Grave Robber.[10] In 2017, the self-titled album was re-released on vinyl through Roxx, and Weapons of Our Warfare was re-released through Bombworks Records. Later on in the year, it was announced that guitarist Glenn Rogers had returned to the band and that Ochoa had departed.[11][12] It was also stated that Greg Minier (The Crucified) would record solos on the album.[11][12] On September 28, 2017, it was announced that Deliverance had signed to Roxx Records and 3 Frogz Records, who released the band's eleventh studio album, The Subversive Kind, in early 2018.[13][14] On October 28, 2017, the band released their debut single off of the album, "The Black Hand", accompanied with a lyric video.[15] On February 20, 2020, the band announced the departure of longtime bassist Victor Macias and that Manny Morales would take the place of bassist again.[16]