Mezzamorphis is the best album Delirious? has made to date. It worships through lyrics that are insightful, prophetic, encouraging, and honest. They probe into themes essential to the Christian faith--communion, salvation, social responsibility, hope, and love--with a sincerity that gives substance to their work.
The album is noticeably focused on the topic of heaven. From the opening songs 'The Mezzanine Floor' and 'Heaven' that emphasize the heaven-bound aspect of our being, to the tension-ridden 'Gravity' that emphasize the struggle to be heavenly residents in an earthly form, this heaven focus shines through their lyrics. Even ideas about hell are briefly explored in 'It's OK,' a song that conveys most of its meaning in the mood it creates.
Lyrically, the highlights of the album are 'Metamorphis'--a beautiful song about communion, holiness, identity, and our future freedom from the shackles of sin--and 'Blindfold'--a song about brokenness, and the hollow ring that easy answers have in the ears of the suffering, but which ends with a turning of one's face up to the sky in a resounding chorus of "Glory, glory/Glory, in the highest."
Musically, the album has a harder modern rock feel than the pop-rock King of Fools (just compare 'Deeper' with 'Deeper 99'). Most notable, though, is the atmospheric, even ethereal, sound produced by the electronic programming and filtered guitars. Although difficult to penetrate at first, for the diligent listener it will result in innumerable pleasures, once the layered sounds are allowed to aid the melody and lyrics in ushering the listener toward the very heart of God. This may occur in the overt claim of Christ in 'Jesus' Blood' or in the mingling ideas of the warmth of the sun and the glory of the Son in 'Beautiful Sun.'
'Gravity' is probably the most accessible song on the album, but its commercial-jingle chorus gets lodged in your head with irritating effect. Push on from there. Explore 'Bliss,' 'Beautiful Sun,' and 'See the Star' and you will get a feel for the sound of the album. Then you should be prepared to dive into the enriching depths of 'Kiss Your Feet,' 'It's OK,' and 'Jesus' Blood.' In the end, you will be rewarded with a nicely reworked version of the King of Fools instant classic, 'Deeper.'
This album takes some getting used to. Take the time to get to know it. You should find it forces itself into regular rotation on your CD player, with each listening bringing new joys in the lyrical power and musical richness of the album.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #79Reviewed by John DiBiaseIn 1996, with the release of Eric Champion's album, Transformation, the advertisement taglines were always "Forget What You Know." Well, with 1999's new June release of deliriou5?'s Mezzamorphis, ironically, the same tagline could apply. So, basically... forget what you know. 1998 saw a tremendous stage entry for this British-based band. You couldn't be at Creation without seeing something with…Exit Zine 1999Reviewed by Joel ThomasForget what you know about Deliriou5?; drop any preconceived notions you may have about their new album, entitled Mezzamorphis. Martin Smith, lead singer, says in the press release accompanying the album, "A lot of you have been asking, 'Well, is it like Cutting Edge, is it like King of Fools?' Well, I don't think it's like any of them really. It's a big step for us as a band. It still definitely…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Keith Giles"I'm on the mezzanine floor, never been here before...but I'll get to heaven," sings Martin Smith on the opening track of the long-anticipated Mezzamorphis, the band's third collection of all-new songs. While Martin readily admits that this is an album exploring musical territories which the band has never visited before, the problem is that most listeners have been here before. Delirious may…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by James StewartCrashing into the UK album charts at the much-lower-than-expected position of 25, Mezzamorphis should assure most listeners that delirious? are still very much faith-inspired in their songwriting. The theme of heaven dominates from the very start. Musically, the sound is much richer than on the disappointingly dry King of Fools, and the fuller soundscape moves away from the strong U2 feel,…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Eric DaamsFor weeks I'd been reading rave reports of Delirious?'s latest offering. I expected a dramatic change from their previous work, something that would absolutely blow me away. It didn't. To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed but the change that I'd read all the reports about wasn't as radical as I expected. Take King of Fools, add a few distorted guitars and synths, and you get…Similar sounding releases
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