Heritage was certainly a shock, but there was something special about that album too. They went full-tilt with the style, and Axenrot absolutely kills it. Love the atmosphere, love all the tracks. Both Pale Communion and Sorceress have really seemed like lesser versions of Heritage for me.
You know what? I kind of agree with you - to me it feels like Heritage is the album Mikael had always wanted to make and is the purest representation of the music he loves, and the fact that
he named it the album he wants to be remembered for in this article from last spring echoes that. While PC is decent and Sorceress pretty solid, I love Heritage for its "screw everyone's opinions, let's do whatever the hell we like" spirit.
I think after Heritage Mikael (and co.) didn't want to repeat the exact same formula, yet he didn't want to go back to the roots either, so the latest 2 feel a little bit watered down in comparison and don't have as strong and clear a vision behind them. When PC came out he admitted that Heritage was pretty crazy and that PC would be more listener-friendly (not
radio-friendly, mind you), and I remember one interview where he was talking about the title-track of Sorceress and how heaviness seems to be such a big deal to some fans, which almost made it sound like he wrote the song just so he could go to the metal audience and say "well, here's some heavy shit for ya - happy now?"
In other words, it looks like Mikael sees Heritage as the culmination of his career and these latest albums have just been slightly more accessible and heavier takes on that sound, but that's just my theory. I hope the next album will take them in a new direction once again - after all, a trilogy of 70s prog is probably enough, and I'd like to think that the lyrics of Era hint at the start of another chapter in the band's history. /ramble