Opeth
In Cauda Venenum
Release Date: Sep 27, 2019
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Heavy Metal
Record label: Nuclear Blast
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Album Review: In Cauda Venenum by Opeth
Excellent, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
In interviews before the release of In Cauda Venenum, Mikael .
Based on rating 8/10
It's been over a decade since Opeth last featured death growls, on 2008's Watershed, yet each subsequent release has been overshadowed by the expectation that Opeth might revert back to their former sound. At first, the change was a hard pill to swallow when debuted on 2011's Heritage. The Swedish pioneers of progressive death ditched the death metal in favour of '70s-inspired prog rock — Hammond organ and all. Despite being met by critics favourably, many fans rejected the change, awaiting the day an Opeth release would once again feature ….
Based on rating 4/5
It's not metal in the traditional sense, but the Swedish group's 13th album proves that heaviness is a state of mind, not a setting on your amplifier The death metal outfit Opeth, as first formed in 1989, is a band now long gone. A curious detail of the group’s biography is that no member present at the Swedish group first rehearsal now plays with the band. Current singer, principal songwriter and guitarist Mikael .
Based on rating 3.7/5
Renewed inspiration makes Opeth's latest their best since Heritage. In typically unpredictable fashion, Opeth have established an unexpected new phase of their existence this past decade. They controversially shed their unique brand of metal that earned them high praise through the 2000s with Heritage, and thus began a new journey into the realm of folkish progressive rock and a more traditional approach to hard rock and heavy metal. This new style has wavered between new sounds and innovation, and drawing inspiration from groups like King Crimson, Yes, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and countless others. The releases following Heritage were solid, but the songwriting in places felt more straightforward and less unique than usual.
Opinion: Excellent
With the release of In Cauda Venenum, we are now four albums deep into Opeth's discography sans extreme metal. And yet, many fans of the Swedish band's earlier albums will still bray online about the lack of blast-beats, Azagthothian riffs, and death growls on Opeth's latest progressive rock LP - eleven years on since those elements last appeared on record. Without question, Opeth - a band that truly deserves the much-abused "progressive" tag - existed on a different plane than most of their extreme metal peers during the mid-90s/00s.
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