Most fans of Deliverance said one thing about River Disturbance when it was released in '94: "Why'd Jimmy cut his hair?" Another question was "What's up with the zoot suits?" I asked both questions, along with, "Why're they on Brainstorm records?" It was a valid question. Up until then, the legendary Deliverance made their home at Intense Records.
If anything, my feelings about River Disturbance have been and are still quite mixed. Part of me (okay most of me) still long for the old speed metal Deliverance to re-emerge from the ashes. This CD still continues the "art metal" direction they went into during their last years of existence, with a heavier lean toward the "art" part than the "metal" part. To tell the truth, usually the only songs I listen to here are the opener "Belltown" and the duet with 12th Tribe on "A Little Sleep". Other songs, like "After I Fell", "River Disturbance", "Map" and "You Still Smile" kind of grew on me as time went by. But I still find myself skipping around more often than actually listening to it. Not their best work, but not their worst.
6/10
Other coverage for this album
Heaven's Metal #51Reviewed by Doug Van PeltOkay, we see new hair styles? How about new musical styles? Well, not really. Jimmy Brown and Co. pretty much keep traveling in the direction that was first charted with the Stay of Execution album. We still hear a theatrical "David Bowie meets Eric Clayton" vocal sound layered on top of a full and heavy bottom end and progressive chord structures -- almost like mixing the dreamy high end with…Similar sounding releases
1997TourniquetCrawl to China
1995Sweet NectarTired Face in Clown Paint
2002FozzyHappenstance
1999NailedEntity
2003Throne of ChaosLoss Angeles
2001Jacob's DreamTheater Of WarMore from Deliverance
2001Greetings of Death Etc.
1991What a Joke
1990Weapons of Our Warfare
1992Stay of Execution
1989Deliverance
2001Assimilation
