DELIVERANCE - WHAT A JOKE (*NEW-CD, GOLD DISC EDITION, 2020) Bay Area Thrash madness!
Artist: Deliverance
Title: What A Joke + 1 bonus track (Gold Disc Edition)
Product ID: RRCD1581
Barcode: 637405141689
Record Label: Retroactive Records
Packaging: CD 12-page insert/jewel case with foil stamped trading card
Release Date: December 15th, 2020
- Comes with gold foil stamped Deliverance trading card in every CD
- First ever Gold Disc Edition
- Includes 2014 re-recorded version of What A Joke featuring both Jimmy and George
- Remastered by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound
- 12-page deluxe booklet in jewel case
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Originally released in 1991, Deliverance’s third album is a thrash masterpiece along the lines of S.O.D., M.O.D., Sacred Reich, and Death Angel. Few are free from their lyrical mockery, be it profiteering doomsday preachers, goofy fundamentalists who hate metal because of the sound, skeptics/atheists, the Roman Catholic church, American politicians, or even the whole of American society. Naturally, they've opted to mock just about every type of person who wouldn't likely be at one of their live performances, so the approach is a tad safe, though nevertheless eloquent and effective when compared to much of the marble-mouthed rambling that can infect politically charged or humor-based thrash lyrics. This album resulted in some of the most unique and interesting work in the band’s catalog. Where before the songs were all serious subject matter and thrash played to perfection, What a Joke saw the band taking themselves and their music a bit less seriously, showing the fun side of metal and taking on topics that could be handled with more humor and still get the message across. Classics like It’s the Beat and Purgatory Sandwich With Mustard see Jimmy and company tackling topics other bands may have seen as taboo, thus, this album remains an important piece in the Deliverance catalog. The 2020 CD reissue includes all the original tracks, plus one 2014 re-recorded version of the song, What a Joke (including George Ochoa). Everything has been digitally remastered by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound. It comes on a Gold Disc (to deter against disc rot) in a jewel case and a 12-page insert with lyrics and excellent band pics, and a gold foil stamped Deliverance trading card in every CD. Limited to just 1000 units, get this classic while you can! For fans of classic, elite thrash ala Metallica, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and M.O.D.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WHAT A JOKE
Brown and Ochoa continue to form a dominant guitar team; any momentum from Weapons Of Our Warfare is carried over here. Brown, in particular, puts on a clinic in terms of intense as all get out riffs and harmonies. The guy literally wrote the book on tight sounding rhythm guitar playing- done thrash/speed metal style!
- Angelic Warlord Reviews
Perhaps the most musically nuanced and intricate of the bunch is the technical foray "Pseudo Intellectual" which has a riff set dynamic and elaborate enough to pass for something off Twisted Into Form, although presented in more of a Testament flavor and introduced with a similarly creepy atmospheric intro to the ones that were common on The New Order. Not too far behind is the more mixed up speeder "A Product Of Society", which blazes away a good bit after the Eternal Nightmare model, but also mixes in some crushing mid-paced goodness not all that far off from what made Victims Of Deception a formidable swansong for the original thrash movement.
The Metal Archives Reviews
Coming off of their career high, the group produced a transitional piece. What a Joke reveals a band coming apart at the seams, though a cover of Black Sabbath’s “After Forever” remains a highlight, and an ironically noisy rendition of “Silent Night,” a classic novelty
Mark Allan Powell - Encyclopedia of CCM
Tracklist
1 Intro 0:17
2 Prophet Of Idiocy 3:27
3 Pseudo Intellectual 7:15
4 Cheeseburger Maker Du 0:08
5 What A Joke 6:21
6 Chipped Beef 2:04
7 After Forever
Written-By – Tony Iommi 5:26
8 It’s The Beat
Vocals – Roger Martinez
Written-By – George Ochoa, Jimmy P. Brown, Roger Martinez 1:58
9 A Product Of Society 4:43
10 Happy Star 0:05
11 J.P.D. 0:17
12 Pray 0:41
13 Silent Night
Lyrics By, Music By – Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr
Vocals – Catherine Ochoa 5:00
14 J.I.G. 2:11
15 Purgatory Sandwich With Mustard 2:59
16 Attack
Lead Guitar [1st] – Jimmy P. Brown II 3:38
Bonus Track
- What A Joke! (2014 Recording featuring George Ochoa)
