Heart Of A Coward – “Deliverance” [Album Review]

UK tech-metal juggernauts Heart Of A Coward really stamped their mark on the metal scene here and in Europe with their stupidly-brilliant Severance album back in 2013. An absolute behemoth of a record, the band followed its release by hitting the road for eighteen months, honing their already ferocious sound into one that has resulted in this record and, fuck me, what a record.

While there was no doubting the tech-metal quality on Severance, everything about Deliverance is so much bigger and nastier. The tech-metal riffs, Jamie’s snarling vocals, the hooks, basically the band have taken every element of Severance and pumped it full of testosterone to make a truly monstrous record. From the opening salvo of “Hollow” and “Miscreation” there is no letting up from the band but, whereas Severance suffered at times from being too clinical, Deliverance sounds more organic.

Sure, the riffs still hurt as they relentlessly jab home, but there is a melodic groove to songs like the brilliant “Anti-Life” that make them instantly stick in your head. Basically, while most of the big hitters in the UK metal scene at the moment are exploring more mainstream sounds, Heart Of A Coward have taken the basics of what they are really good at and improved them tenfold.

What it boils down to is that, as the band themselves have been quoted as saying, Deliverance may be a dark, punishing record but it is a record that, instead of taking the straightforward route of battering your senses with a barrage of riffs, it’s a more song-orientated record. It’s an album that sees Heart Of A Coward come of age and show the UK metal scene that heavy is best.

Track Listing:

01. Hollow
02. Miscreation
03. Turmoil I – Wolves
04. Turmoil II – The Weak Inherit The Earth
05. Anti-Life
06. Grain Of Sand
07. Mouth Of Madness
08. Deliverance
09. Skeletal I – Mourning Repairs
10. Skeletal II – Arise

Run Time: 46:49
Release Date: October 2, 2015

Check out the song “Turmoil I: Wolves” here.