#12 - Top of 2019

Opeth - In Cauda Venenum (Nuclear Blast)

Once again, Opeth release one of the best albums of the year, this time with a twist, as In Cauda Venenum came in two versions, one in English and an additional one in the band's native Swedish. It has been more than eleven years since the Swedes touched anything related to death metal, a period long enough for them to be able to unfold their talent in a genre very different from where they started in. Opeth records up to "Watershed" worked extremely well, even as  background music. Now, however, the complexity they developed has reached a point where each song requires the audience's full dedication. This is also the case in "In Cauda Venenum", where you have to drop everything you do in order to assimilate its "rich" music. "Progressiveness" has been and still is the driving force in the Opeth engine, the constant on which they build their compositions. Following that train of thought, there was bound to be evolution here from 2016's "Sorceress" and this is achieved by (a) a seamless integration of the Swedish lyrics and (b) a greater emphasis on the melodic side of prog which way more prominent here than on previous endeavours of the band. The tracks presented here draw influences from all major scenes of the prog rock tapestry ranging from folk interludes and Steven Wilson to the grandiose 70s prog epics.

On the 13th album of Opeth, their new identity seems to be clearly defined; complex parts are combined to create something much more approachable. The vocals have points made to be sung-along. The success of the band here is managing to make more mature, more complete compositions while maintaining the style they like to play in their current phase.

95.1/100

Below is the official Music Video for "Universal Truth".