Opeth, Sorceress

After two reviews full of superlatives for Heritage and Pale Communion, I guess it’s finally time to tone down a bit the Opeth fangirlism for Sorceress. It doesn’t mean that Sorceress is a bad album, Opeth could make better albums than 80% of the music that’s out there in their sleep, I think they’re incapable of writing a bad record. It’s just that it’s not as brilliant as some of their previous works. What can I say, they set high standards for themselves… Then again, this being Opeth, I might change my mind after a few more spins, it seems that no matter how many times I listen to their albums, there’s always more to discover and more to love.

The album opens up with Persephone, a melancholic and gentle instrumental intro that reminds me a bit of the northern doomy bands like Saturnus.

The title track, Sorceress, starts very suddenly, especially after the dreamy Persephone, with a prog-jazzy intro. Sudden transitions are the norm in this track and it’s a very intense progressive song, typical of Opeth. I guess one couldn’t have an Opeth record without straining to hear the notes and then wincing when they immediately go into full-blown mode. On top of that, there’s Akerfeldt’s voice, which interestingly enough, might actually be the best thing about this band. And I say interestingly, because to have a simple calm warm voice steal the spotlight from all this whirlwind of instruments and rhythms and changes is quite a performance and it says a lot about his power to convey emotions and make my heart vibrate. 

The wilde flowers is probably the most diverse, challenging and emotionally loaded track of the album. Safe to say it’s in fact my favourite moment from Sorceress. I was saying in the previous reviews that Opeth are a band of contrasts and this is one of the songs where it’s most clear – how catchy and yet hard to fully explore the track is, the staccato notes in the beginning that sound so flowing and tied together, the “blinding light” part which is beautiful musically and frightening lyrically, the transition from Queen-like choir, to electric guitar solo, to gentle vocals, to loud drums and then silence on the course of less than a minute… Again, I am fascinated. And most of all, it’s so cute that Mikael is so excited about the harps in this track, even though you can barely hear them. That’s just like him to get excited about everything he does and this is what I love most about him, his huge huge passion for his music. The guy even confessed he feels empty when he leaves the studio after finishing an album!

Will o the wisp reminds me a lot of Windowpane, with the lovely acoustic guitar, Mikael’s beautiful warm voice, the gentle and discreet buildup of instruments, the crying electric guitar and all. It’s an almost simple song, still with plenty of progression, but more conservatory compared to what they normally do.

Chrysalis is another shout out to their past, as it could easily fit on any of the older albums considering the heaviness and intensity. I’m in love with it, from the vocal line to the instrumental, the changes, the tone, the sudden weird noises, the Jon Lord keyboard solo, the Opeth crying guitar, Mikael’s enchanting voice, everything is perfect. I’m intrigued by how they borrow so much from older bands (by Mikael’s own admission), and still they are Opeth from head to toe. How this is possible is a mystery I am yet to understand.

Sorceress 2 is a a bit eerie and has an otherworldly vibe (in fact it sounds a lot like Pink Floyd’s similarly eerie moments), but overall it’s pretty forgettable. In fact, this Pink Floyd resemblance that starts here, but is present in a lot of the following tracks, is the only thing that truly bothers me about this album. I absolutely adore Pink Floyd and I don’t think any band should be ashamed of being influenced by them, but Opeth already have their own amazing sound and now it’s Opeth time, not PF time, I want to hear Akerfeldt’s genius. And God knows there’s plenty of that!

The seventh sojourn is the second moment of this album where they kind of lost me. It’s an ok oriental, instrumental track, but to me it feels incomplete without vocals; it sounds more like a soundtrack than a stand-alone song, especially when it’s not just a reprise but a full length track.

Thankfully, they start picking it up again with Strange brew, a very weird psychedelic (not the genre, the state of mind) and always surprising track, that quickly alternates between atmospheric and loud. I haven’t yet decided if it’s a display a genius or a disjointed pretentious mess, I find myself going from love to hate and back to love in mere seconds. 

 A fleeting glance starts off soft, gentle and emotional and then evolves into the now expected breaks of rhythm and prog keyboards, goes back to soft, back to eclectic and is then topped with a guitar solo. Normal day in the studio for them…

The last stand alone track, Era, seems to be the fan favourite nowadays, but my opinion of it is not as favourable (although it’s subject to change, depending on what part of it I’m focusing). The truth is that the two halves sound like two different songs from two different bands – the first one is cold, dull and repetitive, with a bluntness and lack of progression that’s not characteristic of them, but then comes the ending to save it, so melodious and hooking I’m ready to forget I pretty much hated the first part.

Ok, my fangirlism is back, I swear these guys can do no wrong (or are very quick to make me forget about the “almost wrong” moments)! And I find them so intriguing. A moment ago I was thinking I’m not exactly gushing over this album, that it’s technically impressive, as always, but cold and emotionless and even loud and tiering by the time it reaches the end and that it lacks the cohesiveness and moodiness of Pale Communion (which by now has reached the status of my favourite Opeth album). Bear in mind that I had already listened to it at least a dozen times. And then I sat down one more time to take notes and bam, fascination, praise and love. And I’m listening to the tracks as I jot down all sorts of thoughts and I start sinking into the music and enjoying it and realise I’m in the middle of the track and haven’t written almost anything; and I go back and then it happens again. They’re truly mesmerising.

There are a few less than stellar moments (mostly in the second part), but neither of them is weak enough to ruin my enthusiasm and the brilliance of the rest fully makes up for it, so once more I declare myself happy. I suppose this why they’re at the top of my mind whenever someone asks me what bands I listen to, they’re the perfect mix between technical, surprising & unusual and yet honest, genuine & full of feeling.