Opeth need no introduction. The band from Stockholm was formed in 1989 and released their first LP in 1995. The group has been through several personnel changes. Lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's primary driving force. The band has enjoyed growing success over the years having released masterpieces such as the highly acclaimed 2011's Blackwater Park. In 2011 with Heritage, Opeth abandoned completely the the black metal scream and the death metal growl. The band adopted a retro psychedelic progressive rock and left metal on second plan. This move has undoubtedly divided fans. But you must get past that because Åkerfeldt has made it very clear that this is how Opeth sound now.
I came to In Cauda Venenum with an open mind. Opeth's thirteenth studio album and forth of this "new era". The title in Latin (translation: Poison in the Tail) was a deliberate choice so that it can be used with both album versions: Swedish and English. The album was written and recorded in Swedish, then Åkerfeldt translated and recorded the vocals again, but now in English. He considers the Swedish version the "original album" and only one song (track 3) "Hjärtat vet vad handen gör / Heart in Hand" he believes is better in English. Given all of that, I am listening and reviewing the Swedish version.
"Livets Tradgard" is a distinctive 3:30-minute intro with a church music meets Pink Floyd vibe and also showcase a artistic choice recurrent throughout the album, the use of samples (from movies and TV shows). Following that, the first part of the record is quite good and certainly better than Sorceress (where the retro thing really bothered me). There are some moments in the first half of In Cauda Venenum that could be from the early 2000's (minus the death/black metal, of course). The songs "Svekets Prins" and "Hjärtat vet vad handen gör" were released in advance of the album as singles. They are indeed some of the best in the record. Inventive, progressive and yet heavy and moving. "Minnets Yta" is another highlight, a very Pink Floydian track (the piano intro is just like "The Great Gig in the Sky") with the most amazing guitar solo by Fredrik Åkesson. The guitar solos by the way are fantastic in almost every song. Overall, the musicianship is, as expected, superb (except the vocals which are just OK) and the production is top notch. Special shout out to drummer Martin Axenrot for his excellent work throughout the record but specially in "Hjärtat vet vad handen gör". "Charlatan" closes the first part of the record with heaviness and very cool groove, it's almost like the follow-up of "Deliverance" (the drumming here as well, wow). Unfortunately, it goes downhill from there. The last part is quite boring. And it's not just because they are slow, I love "Windowpane" for example, it's just that they don't quite work for me. The exception being the closer "Allting Tar Slut" which brings some final epicness.
Like most good prog records, In Cauda Venenum is a slow grower. By now, I am already convinced that this is as good as the previous two records. If it's gonna grow further to become the best of the four "prog not metal" days, time will tell (and by the way, there's no point comparing to pre-Heritage era). I like how we moved a bit further from the super retro feeling from Sorceress. The 70's prog is still VERY much in here, but we do see the band bringing back some heaviness from the early days and experiment more with jazz. Is that enough? Not for me. I still would like to see more aggressiveness maybe other influences and less 70's. It's difficult to dislike such a well written, executed and produced prog record.
SCORE: 79/100
DR: 10
Genre: Progressive Rock
Released by Nuclear Blast on September 27th, 2019
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