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.