Opeth Release Frenzied New Song ‘The Wilde Flowers’
The arrival of Opeth's newest record, Sorceress, is drawing closer and fans can now get a clearer snapshot of the record with the newly released track, "The Wilde Flowers." The song bridges the track list gap between the previously released title track and "Will O the Wisp," offering a fair glimpse at the front portion of this latest slab of prog.
"Sorceress" was one of the heaviest songs of the post-Watershed era of the Swedish progressive collective, while "Will O the Wisp" showcased their affection for Jethro Tull with a wholly light mood. This new track lies somewhere between these contrasting moods, offering Opeth's signature light and shade between the two halves of the song.
Coming off the title cut, "The Wilde Flowers" sees Opeth lean on the harder elements of their style with a jarring, staccato rhythm that cleverly volleys with more fluid, slithering bass lines and some of the best keyboard work ever laid down in the band's exhaustive and acclaimed catalog. Frontman Mikael Akerfeldt accents the rhythms with his vocal delivery, transitioning into a gorgeous hook on the chorus. The back half of the song wades in airy passages, setting up the following track with atmospherical precision.
In a track-by-track breakdown of Sorceress Akerfeldt spoke with Metal Hammer about "The Wilde Flowers," stating, “This was the first song I wrote for this album. It’s kind of an Opeth standard, in a way, like from the last two albums. It’s very dynamic. It has a chorus, I guess. Then there’s a big Queen-sounding bit in the middle just before this massive solo… oh, and harps! They’re hidden in the mix but they’re there. The title comes from the band Caravan – they were originally called Wilde Flowers. I always liked those weird spellings.”
To pre-order Sorceress, head to the Nuclear Blast webstore and explore a wealth of bundle options and various vinyl editions or pre-order digitally through iTunes with instant gratification downloads of all three singles. Catch Opeth on tour with the Sword this fall starting Sept. 29 and see with a list of tour dates at our 2016 Guide to Rock + Metal Tours.
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