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PRE-ORDER RELEASED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2016

Since forming in the tiny Stockholm suburb of Bandhagen in 1990, Opeth have eclipsed
convention, defiantly crushed the odds and, most importantly, crafted twelve stunningly
beautiful, intrinsically intense albums to become one of the best bands on the planet; whether
live or on record.

Opeth’s new album, ‘Sorceress’, their first for Nuclear Blast via the band’s Moderbolaget
Records label, is proof that 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 twelfth full length is an
unparalleled adventure, where visions cleverly and secretly change, colours mute as if
weathered by time and sounds challenge profoundly. ‘Sorceress’ is, by definition, moored in
Åkerfeldt’s impressive record collection - his one true vice - but, as always, there’s more
invention than appropriation at play.

In 1995 Orchid reset the rules of death metal. Six years later, ‘Blackwater Park’ hit the high
note for musicality in a genre generally devoid of it. In 2014, ‘Pale Communion’ officially bridged
the progressive music gap by twisting the intrepid sounds of the 60s, 70s and 80s into
contemporary brilliance.

For ‘Sorceress’, Opeth returned to Rockfield Studios in Wales, where the Swedes had tracked
‘Pale Communion’ in 2014 with Tom Dalgety. The experience was so positive and historical - the
countryside studio was also home to pivotal Budgie, Queen, Rush, Judas Priest and Mike
Oldfield recordings - that there really was no other option for Opeth and crew. Åkerfeldt and
bassist Martín Méndez, drummer Martin Axenrot, guitarist Fredrik Åkesson and keyboardist
Joakim Svalberg have been together since 2011’s ‘Heritage’ was completed and according to
Åkerfeldt he’s not been in a better band situation before. Not since ‘Orchid’. Not since ‘Still Life’.
Not since ‘Ghost Reveries’: “It’s the best band situation I’ve ever had. Fans will look at our eras
and have their favourite line-up, but this is the best. Even the happiest days of the first and
second line-ups aren’t comparable to what I have now. We never fight. It’s like a good work
team. We know each other professionally and personally. As much as we’re a band, we’re also
friends. We hang out when we’re not doing Opeth.”

Tracklisting
‘Sorceress’
Persephone
Sorceress
The Wilde Flowers
Will O The Wisp
Chrysalis
Sorceress 2
The Seventh Sojourn
Strange Brew
A Fleeting Glance
Era
Persephone (Slight
Return)

Bonus Tracks
The Ward *
Spring MCMLXXIV *