During my teen years, I went through a period of my life where I was extremely depressed and confused about the way life was going for me. I suppose every teen goes through this but my journey down this road led to me becoming a Christian. Not in the traditional manner of course since I was still very much a Metal head and not your typical Church type kid. As it happened I gave my life to Christ at a Metal concert. I then proceeded to seek out other Metal fans and musicians who I could relate to. The funny thing is that this also is exactly what all Metal fans do i.e. try to identify with those interested in the same music and ideals, mine just happened to be Jesus rather than Satan, or Buddha, or Mohamed etc. For musicians who followed the philosophies of any of these, sans Christianity they were labeled simply… Metal, but if you happened to be a Christian in a band you were deemed “Christian Metal”. Frankly, I never understood this label and separation, in my book, the music was either good or bad and I either bought into what they were saying or I didn’t. One particular band from the so-called Christian Metal scene that has had a tremendous impact on me both spiritually and artistically is the band Deliverance who during the late 80’s and early 90’s were a pinnacle of inspiration for many diehard fans and up and coming artists in and around Southern California. Deliverance began as a Speed Metal/Thrash band heavily influenced by artists such as Metallica and Slayer but over the years broadened their influences to include the likes of Queensryche and David Bowie and ultimately maturated into a sound uniquely their own. While the band led by vocalist/guitarist Jimmy P. Brown opened many doors in their day many were shut in their face as well and the road for these guys has been anything but smooth. Regardless they still manage to shell out a new album every five years or so and play gigs here and there. Their most recent studio achievement comes from 2007’s As Above So Below and showcases a combination of the bands earlier sound coupled with the more recent accents of sonic perplexity. In celebration of the bands 25 years of existence they played a one of gig at the Up From The Ashes Festival in Temecula CA in late August and I was privileged to have been in attendance. While there I managed to score some quality sit down time to go one on one with Mr. Brown about the bands current state, the trials and tribulations they’ve faced over the years, not to mention the controversy’s and what future may exist for the band at this given moment. The following is the first part of a two part interview that I hope to conclude in early November after the band play Nordic Fest 2010 in late October. Very enlightening and heartfelt Jimmy is a true hero of the faith and of the pioneering movement in which he helped to create. Enjoy!