Opeth – Sorceress CD Review
27th September 2016We’re reaching the end of the record, “Era” is approaching its climax and for the past 5 minutes and 41 seconds Åkerfeldt has been screaming that this is the end of an era. Suddenly a gunshot goes off and brings us back to “Persephone (Slight Return)”, closing the chapter on metal. Sorceress is truly the end of an era and the refining of what Opeth started with Heritage, the record that pissed off half of their fan base and mesmerized the other.
While many metal fans will try and connect Sorceress with Damnation, Watershed and even Ghost Reveries, the basis for this record is something completely different. Åkerfeldt’s ongoing musical discovery has taken him from prog rock to Coltrane, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. They’re all there, in tracks like “Chrysalis”, it’s a madness that can only come from jazz, the courage to either go fast with the guitar solos or suddenly float gently through the air with acoustic guitars in “Sorceress 2”.
Although jazz does run through Sorceress’s veins, the record’s dark soul comes from Il Paese dei Balocchi, a somewhat obscure band that Åkerfeldt dedicated himself to listen with great passion, so every time you notice an uneasy string section in this record, or the more introspective, almost acoustic “Will O The Wisp”, remember these Italians.
Sorceress may be heavy (as great prog rock can be), but it is not metal; its heavy and disquieting sound is greatly influenced by Will Malone’s work with bands such as Black Sabbath and Will’s own enigmatic record Mothership. This is more noticeable in the track “Sorceress”, where a deep, ground shattering riff is repeated over and over, provoking tension, as if one was being slowly chased by something ominous.
Sorceress is a testament to the love Åkerfeldt has towards the bands he keeps discovering, like a diary straight out of his head that shows us the constant exploration of Opeth’s lead man.
Score: 9 out of 10
Sorceress Album Info
Track list:
01. Persephone
02. Sorceress
03. The Wilde Flowers
04. Will O The Wisp
05. Chrysalis
06. Sorceress 2
07. The Seventh Sojourn
08. Strange Brew
09. A Fleeting Glance
10. Era
11. Persephone (Slight Return)
Record Label:
Nuclear Blast
Release Date:
30th September 2016
Sorceress can be ordered here
