{"id":2734,"date":"2019-12-06T17:19:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T17:19:10","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-11-22T00:32:54","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T00:32:54","slug":"deliverance-stay-of-execution-limited-run-vinyl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/06\/deliverance-stay-of-execution-limited-run-vinyl\/","title":{"rendered":"DELIVERANCE: Stay of Execution (Limited Run Vinyl)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Once Was … To What Is…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those of us who have been around long enough to have grown up during an era when vinyl records were essentially the sole source of recorded music we had access to on a daily basis can relate to this observation \u2013 listening to an album (or an album side) was an investment in time. Likewise, every record we \u201cdiscovered\u201d had a context within the events of our lives at that exact point of \u201ccontact.\u201d That\u2019s at least how I grew up listening to music \u2013 it was never in a vacuum. And as we moved from vinyl to cassettes to CDs as the preferred media formats for exploring new music, this basic principle still held sway in my life. I say all this not to dissuade the younger generations from continuing to read this review \u2013 for all of you, even in the digital era, have experienced something similar in your musical explorations whether you realize it or not \u2013 but rather to set the \u201ccontext\u201d for my review of Stay Of Execution<\/em>, an album which blessed me richly during a difficult and transitional season of life, an album which has at times been maligned by metal \u201cpurists\u201d as a sell-out (whatever that really means in the context of art) \u2026 but most importantly, an album which has stood the test of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cStay of Execution was definitely an experimental journey \u2026 The fans were shocked, but I think after the initial volts to their ear canals, they were able to appreciate what was going on here\u2026\u201d<\/span> \u2013 <\/em>Jimmy P. Brown II<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Stay Of Execution<\/span> exposes so many wonderful and ugly truths of life, it has so many depths of musical and lyrical intricacy and yet it was a total leap of faith for Deliverance circa 1992 to release this record, especially in lieu of their success with the first two well-executed thrash-oriented albums. But the metal winds of change were building up to blow away the foundations of metal as we had known them for more than a decade, and Jimmy was wise enough to recognize this, even as many a fan disparaged the change. Oh, in retrospect, it was brilliant \u2013 for Stay<\/span> would herald in the progressive metal to follow \u2013 but at the time, it was a total risk. So was taking on Terry Taylor as a producer. What\u2019s an alternative rock guy going to bring to metal, right? But Jimmy was impassioned by Taylor\u2019s works and influence, and so \u201cfrom once was\u2026\u201d became the new Deliverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHaving undergone some major personnel changes, this disc is expectedly different in approach and sound from the prior releases. “Out” is the predominantly speed\/thrash sound, and “in” is the progressive and slightly alternative metal sound. This is not entirely bad, however. Slowing down the tempo just a bit has made the music more enjoyable to contemplate. Jimmy has also altered his vocal approach here for the first time, going after the lower register David Bowie style. This decision will probably be difficult for many fans to accept but I think it works well.\u201d<\/span>  \u2013<\/em> Jonathan \u201cDoc\u201d Swank (1992)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Those were my first impressions of this album in 1992. I was finishing up my final year in medical school in Philadelphia and was soon to be heading off to San Antonio for full-time active duty and residency in Internal Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center. It was an exciting time, but also a time full of anxiety and uncertainty. I didn\u2019t know what I was getting into from the standpoint of my medical career or my military service. I was moving halfway across the nation to a totally foreign state (laugh Texans!) and leaving everything familiar to me behind (Jimmy can you relate?). I knew God had a plan, but in many ways, I needed a \u201cstay\u201d of my own. The lyrics and music of this album carried me through the challenging years to come and to this day still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHere my soul will rest\/The answered prayers, the childhood endings\/The bitter tears, the new beginnings\u2026\u201d<\/span> <\/em>\u2013 From Once Was\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What’s In a Name…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few, back in the day, would debate the marketing value of an album title. However, in this digital era it hardly seems relevant, especially when you can pick and choose your music from a plethora of song lists that are totally disconnected from any kind of concept whatsoever. Nevertheless, there are those album titles from days gone by that are just so iconic that they immediately conjure images of the metal music they represent \u2013 Ride The Lightning<\/span>, Rust In Peace<\/span>, British Steel<\/span>, Powerslave<\/span>, Reign In Blood<\/span> \u2026 you can\u2019t tell me these titles weren\u2019t important. While Tourniquet\u2019s Stop The Bleeding<\/span> lead the way, I can\u2019t really think of too many extreme Christian metal releases with a more \u201cmetal\u201d album title than Stay Of Execution<\/span><\/span>. Such a radical concept \u2013 to be spared a death which you deserve. That\u2019s metal \u2026 but it\u2019s also grace, which defines the Christian way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An Album That Truly Ends On \u201c11\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening to these songs in sequence is like listening to a live show \u2013 there is the initial shock factor – the opening salvo – which is then followed by the band\u2019s \u201cnewer\u201d experimental numbers, which is then followed by a somewhat softer\/acoustic sequence and then the fan-favorite skull-bashers that crescendo their way toward the finale. All the while, it just keeps getting louder! If you were to listen to this album as a group of songs in random order, you might miss this, but in sequence (which is how we mostly listen to vinyl) this album accomplishes exactly what I\u2019m talking about. It\u2019s like a live set \u2013 and this vinyl remaster finally breathes the needed life into these songs to accomplish just that. The greater presence of bass guitar and bass drum, the deeper tonal qualities of the guitars and vocals impart to the recording that \u201clive\u201d chest-thumping quality which connects with your heart and takes your breath away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musically, Stay<\/span> is a transitional album in that it\u2019s a near perfect mix of the older thrashy Metallica-like Deliverance with the newer more progressive and more original Deliverance, and yet it is still incredibly heavy. In fact, in some ways it is much \u201cheavier\u201d (at least in spirit) than its predecessors. I don\u2019t normally do a song-for-song analysis, but for some reason feel compelled to do so for this impactful album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStay Of Execution\u201d<\/span> \u2013 The single-note guitar rhythms set the tone for the entire album \u2013 ominous and intensely untraditional. There is nothing melodic about the opener \u2013 Jimmy\u2019s flattened and deep monotone a spiritual sentencing of the soul. Alternating straight and syncopated kick-drum beats drive the song. The vinyl remaster emphasizes the dark and lower tones in the guitars, bass and drums imparting sinister power to the theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWindow Of The Soul\u201d<\/span> \u2013 This is another dark song, with an almost familiar guitar intro and the wailing high-pitched vocals hearken back to the first two releases. More vocally dynamic and melodious than the opener, this song feels just a bit more comfortable, but Jimmy\u2019s deep tones in the chorus encourage the listener to \u201creach deep in my soul, through the windows of my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGive me the heart of the nail-torn lover\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWords To The\u2026\u201d<\/span> presents another somewhat progressive and experimental approach. You have these huge, dialed-in Metallica guitar tones carrying the rhythm and then this unorthodox vocal line. What was never apparent on the original was the heavy bass rhythm which is accentuated by the vinyl master. The quirky chorus didn\u2019t fit the mold for what was considered metal in 1992, but its impossible to ignore the extreme truth in the lyrics here. \u201cWords to the wise and the poor in spirit\/words to those who have the ear to hear it.\u201d For years these Scriptural truths have resonated in my ears, largely because of this song\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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