Ranking Every Opeth Studio Album From Worst To Best

9. Sorceress (2016)

Sandwiched in-between the best and second-best entries in Opeth’s latest phase, Sorceress is a much better journey than Heritage in terms substantive configurations and overarching cohesion. However, it’s even less significant since it’s the most by-the-numbers chapter of the stylistic tetralogy.

It certainly outdoes Heritage when it comes to its instrumental bookends, as the guitar-driven Persephone and the piano-driven Persephone (Slight Return) are lovelier pieces than Heritage and Marrow of the Earth, respectively. As their titles suggest, they connect melodically to give the whole thing a wider scope as well.

Expectedly, there are a handful of other obvious standouts, such as the luscious acoustic ode Will O the Wisp (which is directly inspired by Dun Ringill by Jethro Tull); the madcap hecticness of Chrysalis; the spitefully cultured and symphonic The Seventh Sojourn; and the elegantly emotional A Fleeting Glance.

Even so, those songs are pleasing as they play but lack the lasting impact of Opeth’s previous triumphs. Couple that with some moderately generic 1970s heavy metal throwbacks – The Wilde Flowers and the title track – and Sorceress is at least a tad unremarkable.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Hey there! Outside of WhatCulture, I'm a former editor at PopMatters and a contributor to Kerrang!, Consequence, PROG, Metal Injection, Loudwire, and more. I've written books about Jethro Tull, Opeth, and Dream Theater and I run a creative arts journal called The Bookends Review. Oh, and I live in Philadelphia and teach academic/creative writing courses at a few colleges/universities.