Opeth - Sorceress

Well, I've been playing my copy over the weekend and here's my review, based on being a fan of both the old days and the new direction - I hope it provides a balanced perspective:

nice Review!  I really love their new album.  I'm a fan of both new and old Opeth and I can understand the metalheads missing their old stuff, but I find myself listening to their newer prog stuff more and more.  The new album has so much to it.  Digging it a lot.

Thanks for the kind words on the review. Sorceress is certainly proving to be quite a talking point isn't it?

I thought Sorceress was going to follow more in the vein of Pale Communion, but I was wrong. It did not disappoint, but I'd rate it as the weakest Opeth albums in their more proggier trio. It has some good moments, but overall it has yet to connect with me as much as Pale Communion, which had classic and memorable Opeth songs like "Cusp of Eternity" and "Goblin" (which is one of their best songs period!). 

I am enjoying the album and psyched to see them at the Warfield in San Francisco this Saturday! I'm still kicking myself for missing the Pale Communion tour - that was my favorite album of the three. To me, Sorceress strikes me as more like Heritage. 

Back when Damnation was released, I whipped up the vinyl copy real quick (thanks Aussie Byrd) and only found out then that they had been around a while incorporating Growling vocals. I never thought much of growls, they never made much sense to me. Fast forward several years...........
Well, I wouldn't say that they're cool in any way, but I accept select bands that chose to 'growl' within their art. They are a weaker element, but when Progressive music is as good as it is in these cases, I can only enjoy the craft immensely for how it is. Opeth are masters of the craft.
My vinyl copy of Sorceress is waiting for me with a mate of mine, 2000 K's away, by Friday, we'll have explored its charms intensely !!

For me, losing the growls meant that Opeth lost that little "edge" that made them stand out from the crowd. The post-growl albums, while still decent music, just feel like they're missing something to make them truly shine.

I just got this album, and though I have only heard it twice, I have really liked it. It's too early to make up my mind, but so far it might actually end up being my favourite Opeth album. Mostly, I really dislike growling too (though I have been warming up a little bit to it), and Opeth are no exception for me, so I have been searching for the non-grunting songs and found a good amount of music that I have come to love, but this is the first album that really feels like a metal album from them without growling, so that's something that really helps for me. So far, the only song from them with grunting that I like is "The Drapery Falls"... the Lamentations live version (actually, this song has become my very favourite Opeth song), and the only artist whose grunting I have actually come to enjoy (in some cases, not always) is Devin Townsend.

Am I the only one thinking that "Sorceress" is mixed and mastered super badly?????

I like the album overall, but I am very disappointed by the master of the album which is, in my opinion, too compressed. It sounds so bad in my opinion!