Album Review: Opeth - Sorceress

With Sorceress, Opeth have somewhat fused the old and the new styles of their musical approach. The guitars are heavier, but the vocals are still clean, and the songwriting is still more rock focused. There are progressive elements, but the songs (aside from Strange Brew) feel more streamlined and... almost catchy? Not catchy in a pop sense, but Opeth seems more accessible than ever on their newest effort. But does this all mean it's good? Have Opeth finally bridged the gap between their older and newer sounds?

Sorceress almost feels like the album that could have followed 2008's Watershed, the last album to feature Opeth's more death metal approach. Songs like the title track and Chrysalis have heavier moments, interlaced with keyboards, bringing back slight memories of past works. But the songs are still fairly simple. There aren't many transitions which make you feel like you're on an adventure. This is much more straight-forward sounding Opeth. A perfect example of this is with Era, a song that feels straight out of the 80's New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene.

Not all of the songs on Sorceress lack that Opeth touch, however. The Wilde Flowers provides a whirling take on psychedelic rock, with a pummeling ending that brings the track to a dizzying halt (but in a good way). Will O The Wisp serves as a Porcupine Tree-type ballad with shimmering leads, giving the song a memorable echo effect while moving to its conclusion. These songs give you that kind of "goosebump" feeling that Opeth can typically deliver.

If there is one failed experiment on this album, it would be Strange Brew, the longest track on the album. Clocking in at over 8 minutes, Strange Brew lives up to its name as a concoction of styles and shifts which simply do not satisfy. Opeth and longer, adventurous songs typically work out with wondrous results. But this effort just does not provide any kind of unbelievable moments, and ends up falling flat.

It's an album of ups and downs, but there are still plenty of stronger moments on Sorceress. While it doesn't conjure the kind of magic of previous works, it does hold its own as a solid effort and feels like it will have more of an impact beyond Heritage and Pale Communion as an evolution of Opeth's new sound.