Greek melodic metal band Black Fate have remixed and remastered their 2009 album Deliverance of Soul, which was the first album with current vocalist Vasilis Georgiou.
Black Fate’s origins go all the way back to 1990 in Larissa, Greece where the original lineup released a couple of demos and started playing shows where they built a following. After a couple of lineup changes and albums, drummer Nikos Tsintzilonis met now current vocalist Vasilis Georgious and the band shifted direction turning to melodic power metal and resulting in the album Deliverance of Soul in 2009. A few more lineup changes later led to Black Fate releasing Between Visons & Lies in 2014 to critical acclaim. Now in 2016, the band has reissued Deliverance of Soul, which was remastered by Erik Tordsson (End Of September) and features new artwork by Jan Yrlund (Apocalyptica, Korpiklaani, Leah).“Deliverance of Soul” track listing
If one didn’t know better, the intro track “Children of Aniramas” sounds a bit like this could be an EDM or techno album, so that was a bit of a surprise to hear as my other exposure to Black Fate was 2014’s Between Visions & Lies. Thankfully, “Dying Freedom” reverts to melodic power metal. I was a bit surprised at the lack of power from the drum riff opening of the song given that this Is a remastered remix of the original album. Production quality is very clean and in general, the overall mix is goo with all instruments and vocals clear and distinct. I almost feel guilty reviewing a reissue of an older album that I’ve never heard before when I’ve only heard the band’s latest release. In this case, it becomes a bit more difficult as I liked Between Visions & Lies quite a bit and it’s apparent that the band had grown considerably before recording that album as the follow up to Deliverance of Soul.
One thing I notice quickly is that both “Dying Freedom” and “Blood Red Sky” have some great moments of musicianship but both songs have some slower sections that seem a bit awkward in terms of song structure and the slower verse sections of “Blood Red Sky” just don’t work for me at all. This all seems to be taken care of for “Angry Silent Scream” but again, this song features some drum parts that really need to have more power.
The majority of the songs on the album are medium-paced to slightly fast power metal and the band excels in that format. For “Wicked,” the band slows things down to power ballad that is primarily keyboard and vocals, and is one of the weaker songs on the album. One other odd moment in the album is the rap-like delivery in part of “Inner Warning” that seems out of place with the rest of the album, but again considering the band was moving in a new direction with a new vocalist, some experimentation is expected and it’s easy to look back critically at an album released originally seven years ago.
“Deliverance of Soul” track listingThe reissue of Deliverance of Soul provides a great glimpse into the history of Black Fate and for those who have only heard Between Visions & Lies, it is interesting to see how the band has evolved in terms of sound and songwriting. Overall, the album does sound a bit dated and some of the apparent weaknesses in the original may still remain to some extent, but this is still an enjoyable listening experience.
Rating: 7/10
Written by John Jackson
“Deliverance of Soul” track listing
01. Children of Aniramas
02. Dying Freedom
03. Blood Red Sky
04. Angry Silent Scream
05. The Conscience Of The Brave
06. Rain Of Paradise
07. If The Silence Was Gray
08. Wicked
09. Thorn In My Hand
10. Inner Warning Of My Soul
11. Fallen
Band Members (Deliverance of Soul lineup)
Giannis Theologis – Guitars
Achileas Moschioulis – Keyboards
Albertos Oikonomou – Bass
Nikos Tsintzilonis – Drums
Ilias Tsintzilonis – Guitars
Vasilis Georgiou – Vocals
Record Label: Ulterium Records, April 2016
Weblinks: Facebook
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘Blood Red Sky’