OPETH: Sixth 'Sorceress' Making-Of Webisode

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will release their twelfth album, "Sorceress", on September 30. The band's first effort for Nuclear Blast via OPETH's imprint label Moderbolaget 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 2", OPETH's new full-length is an unparalleled adventure, where visions cleverly and secretly change, colors mute as if weathered by time, and sounds challenge profoundly.

The sixth studio webisode for "Sorceress" — in which guitarist Fredrik Åkesson talks about the guitar recordings and the amps and effects he used on this release — is available below.

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 twelve 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.

"The new album 'Sorceress' is our twelfth studio album since our beginnings in 1990," says Åkerfeldt. "I find it difficult to understand that we've been going on for twenty-six years, let alone that we've made twelve 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 five-six months and we spent only twelve 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 fucking joy to record it, and a sheer joy listening to it. So there you have it!"

"Sorceress" track listing:

01. Persephone
02. Sorceress
03. The Wilde Flowers
04. Will O The Wisp
05. Chrysalis
06. Sorceress 2
07. The Seventh Sojourn
08. Strange Brew
09. A Fleeting Glance
10. Era
11. Persephone (Slight Return)

OPETH has announced a North American headline tour, set to kick off with a performance at Ozzfest Meets Knotfest on September 24 in San Bernardino, California. The tour, with THE SWORD as support, will continue through the following month before wrapping up on October 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Band photo credit: Stuart Wood