OPETH — Sorceress (review)

OPETH — Sorceress album cover Album · 2016 · Metal Related Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
progshine
Huh, wow, just wow. But don't get my 'wow' wrong, it's a bad wow...

I always respected Opeth because they paved an original road for them (and many other bands) with their mix of sounds. There were all sorts of crazy talk since they decided to move on with Heritage and I never really cared, I liked the way Opeth was going. I thought Heritage was an amazing record and Pale Communion a solid 4 stars effort.

When Sorceress was announced I didn't jump or sunk in expectations but I wanted to hear the album for sure. So, I finally did through Deezer and... well, Mikael lost it on this one. No doubt about it.

More than half of the album is based on Progressive Folk with moments like 'Sorceress 2' being really bad with cringing falsetto vocals (and once again the falsettos on 'Era). And what the hell is the Indian-kinda-of-thing on 'The Seventh Sojourn'?... I am actually really flabbergasted with how this album ended up. In its vas majority the album is Folk, 75% of it being no Rock at all.

The good moments are on the Hard Prog moments like 'Sorceress', 'The Wilde Flowers' and especially 'Chrysalis'. 'Strange Brew' also has its heavy moments but it actually becomes boring with all the jazzy and atmospheric moments.

Mikael keeps saying that the band moves on, and I like that concept and thought that the band was doing that so far, but Sorceress is not moving on, Sorceress is about copying the past (others and Opeth's own past) and going into a direction that is not even that interesting, let alone a 'forward moving' kind of direction. And I am not alone with this thought, only this time I will have to agree with most of the negative reviews.

I am not sure, but I believe Opeth burned all the 'fan credits' they still had with this album... bad move.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Equilibrium Atmospheric Sludge Metal
BESRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tension Between Rot And Genesis Sludge Metal
ANTHESIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recycle Brain Crust Punk
C.P.G
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cartography Of The Mind Deathcore
TETHERED
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us