Opeth releases new album "Sorceress" September 30

Mighty good news!!

http://www.opeth.com/news/item/271-sorceress-to-be-released-on-september-30th

The article:
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2016 marks the monumental return of one of heavy rock’s most unique, revered and fearless bands of the last three decades, OPETH. Over the years, the experimental, prog veterans have continuously reinvented themselves, pushing the boundaries of their craft and expectations of fans and critics alike. Today, OPETH announces their 12th album, »Sorceress«, will be released onSeptember 30th and have unveiled the artwork and track list for their imminent masterpiece.
 
OPETH’s new album, »Sorceress«, their first for Nuclear Blast via the band’s imprint labelModerbolaget Records, is proof chief architect Mikael Åkerfeldt has a near-endless well of greatness inside. From the album’s opener 'Persephone' to 'The Wilde Flowers' and 'Strange Brew' to the album’s counterpart title tracks 'Sorceress' and 'Sorceress II', OPETH’s twelfth full-length is an unparalleled adventure, where visions cleverly and secretly change, colors mute as if weathered by time, and sounds challenge profoundly.
 
”The new album »Sorceress« is our 12th studio album since our beginnings in 1990,” says Åkerfeldt. “I find it difficult to understand that we’ve been going on for 26 years, let alone that we’ve made 12 records now, all of which I am very proud of. ”Sorceress” is no exception. I love this album, as does the whole band. I wrote the music during 5-6 months and we spent only 12 days recording it at Rockfield studios in Wales. I find that once again we’ve taken a step forward. Or sideways, Or backwards. Somewhere!? It’s different! It’s extremely diverse. And if I may say so myself, extremely good. I feel the right to say that since I like to think I know this band better than anyone on the planet. Also, I always manage to detach myself from the record and listen as a fan. It’s a fine little record. My favorite in our discography right now. Of course. That’s how it should be, right? It’s both fresh and old, both progressive and rehashed. Heavy and calm. Just the way we like it. Hopefully there’ll be others around the globe sharing this opinion. It was a joy to make it. A f**king joy to record it, and a sheer joy listening to it. So there you have it!”
 
For »Sorceress«, OPETH returned to Rockfield Studios in Wales, also home to pivotal releases from Queen, Rush and Judas Priest, where the Swedes had tracked »Pale Communion« in 2014 with Tom Dalgety. The band spent 12 days recording at the countryside venue among its serene and inspiring surroundings. The result is nothing short of a powerful and intriguing record that will add yet another layer to the band’s celebrated career.
 
OPETH will return to Europe this November for a spectacular headline tour.
 
»Sorceress« Track List:
1. Persephone
2. Sorceress
3. The Wilde Flowers
4. Will O The Wisp
5. Chrysalis
6. Sorceress 2
7. The Seventh Sojourn
8. Strange Brew
9. A Fleeting Glance
10. Era
11. Persephone (Slight Return)

Edited by Matte - July 18 2016 at 14:08

This and a new In the Woods... album, September is looking good.

I love that cover.

I am not a big fan of the band, but Pale Communion was an excellent album, so I'm looking forward to this. In the meantime, I'll give Heritage a couple of listens.

Opeth have released a second song, "Will O The Wisp" on YouTube.  It has a very Jethro Tull feel to it!

"Will O' The Wisp" sounds like an acoustically charged number from Momentary Lapse of Reason. Teaser cuts have been disappointing so far.

Has anyone bought this yet? I was just wanting to know if the bonus disc with the additional tracks `The Ward' and `Spring MCMLXXIV' are worth paying an additonal $10 for? Are these proper completed tracks or demos? No reviews mention them and there doesn't seem to be any additional info about them. If they're not part of the actual album I'd be happy to simply stick to the regular version.

I thought `Pale Communion' was dreary, but while the two or three tracks I've heard from this album on Youtube sound along the same lines, there was an interesting grungier and heavier murkiness to the production that made them seem a bit more interesting.

I don't know, man....since it came out, I've listened to `Pale Communion' at least ten times, and each time it underwhelms just that little bit more. It's got that great opening track, and then for me it just mostly settles into the same dreary pattern for the rest of the disk that it never escapes from. Of course the playing is sublime, but I think Ackerfelt's voice has become really uninteresting, and most of their music seems to be sounding the same - folky bit, check. Noodly acoustic passage, check. melancholic reflective lyric, check, sighing weary introspective vocal, check, fleeting brooding mood, check - throw all in blender, spin, repeat.

I'm not a big metal fan, but I think their music had so much more energy and power when they were a metal band. I think they make an excellent metal band, but a bland prog-rock band despite the good intentions and a multitude of obvious influences. Even the later mixed-bag metal/prog/clean/growled albums like `Ghost Reveries' and `Watershed' had so much more vibrancy, energy and life.

I did go to the store to buy it today...I was holding the CD in my hands for a few minutes, then thought `Nah, f**k it...' and tossed it back and left. I think I'll wait for their next 20% sale.

Ha, `Blackwater Park' absolutely destroys `PC'!

I will get it eventually...I blind-buy the majority of my prog discs without hearing a second on them. Part of it is knowing the quality of the musicians, or their past efforts, but I honestly just like supporting the genre, even if once in a while you get something that doesn't really impress.

Oh, I didn't know you had `Ghost...'! Have you got `Deliverance' or `Watershed' yet? They'd be pretty easy additions to enjoy if you did get them.

I can't quite work out why `Damnation' works so beautifully, but for `Pale Communion' I can barely make it half-way without feeling like I need an energy drink to bring myself back to life!

Aussie-Byrd-Brother wrote: Has anyone bought this yet? I was just wanting to know if the bonus disc with the additional tracks `The Ward' and `Spring MCMLXXIV' are worth paying an additonal $10 for? Are these proper completed tracks or demos? No reviews mention them and there doesn't seem to be any additional info about them. If they're not part of the actual album I'd be happy to simply stick to the regular version.

They sound like completed tracks, and I personally think they're both great, especially Spring.