In Cauda Venenum (English Version) 2LP (Color)

Certainly, fans and critics will have their opinion, but few records in the Swedes’ oeuvre are as engaging, delicate, panoramic, intense, and musical as Opeth’s lucky thirteenth. Sporting a clever Travis Smith cover—replete with inside jokes and a nod to King Diamond—a masterful Park Studios (The Hellacopters, Graveyard) production and Opeth’s usual five-star musicianship, “In Cauda Venenum” raises the bar markedly. The 10 songs on offer feel and sound completely natural, as if years of listening to and being a fan of Swedish rock and hard rock has paid off. In a way, Opeth have come home.