Review Summary: Without appealing to death-metal's abrasivity, Opeth still retains a dose of poison in the tail
Opeth are a divisive band, having ardent fans of their death metal period and admirers of the progressive infused albums released after "Heritage". Although I usually listen to their death metal works, I occasionally enjoy the progressive records because they showcase masterful instrumental skill and a composition that pays homage to the genre's greatest names. Unlike Porcupine Tree, their progressive career is more organic, mellow, and even the metal accents allow for beautiful musical expressions. Furthermore, their tribute affirms with unwavering consistency, withstanding the test of time due to the full-fledged sound and harmonic homogeneity that compensates for the lack of originality.
The second conceptual incarnation’s peak is marked by the release of "In Cauda Venenum", an exercise in atmosphere inspired by the classic progressive rock. Also, it’s their only prog album to this day that doesn’t really feel like a tribute, his musical volubility ensuring a kind of originality. If the previous effort, "Sorceress," sounds like a commemoration of the stylistic landmarks of a wide variety of bands, from Camel to Moody Blues, "In Cauda Venenum" presents a group who found a final stylistic path, Opeth enlightening a cursive sound that doesn’t succumb to the attitude of a quality tribute. From the cover to the emotionally charged music, the album succeeds in expressing the sentiment of stylistic fulfillment, delivering a music that is classed among the brilliant progressive creations of the decade.
From the very first moment, the band creates an atmospheric sound that will be maintained all over the album’s course. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" functions as a sort of pseudo-overture to the record. It surely isn’t a greatly composed moment and the interpretation is too electronically heavy, but it inspires a landscape and drives the listener’s mind to the record’s scenery. Even if many critics insisted on the inutility of the introduction, I'm inclined to give it a definitive credit for the work’s development; the song contoures a genuine ability to introduce the listener in the album’s spirit. What seems insignificant at first becomes an introduction to a dark, hibernal, but strangely comfortable landscape. From the beginning, it is clear that the band is willing to give further attention to the portrayal of soundscapes; this approach gives solidity and fluence to the entire work.
What amazes in the album’s structure is the presentation of the band’s initial creeds, enunciated in a mature sound. On "In Cauda Venenum" are present the instrumental dialogues, the nuanced scenes and the dynamism that made "Blackwater Park" and "Ghost Reveries" masterpieces. Through the years, Opeth’s musical core wasn’t different from the beginning’s ideals, but the progressive rock hypostasis searched for a new materialization of the concept. "In Cauda Venenum" finds a memorable path of expression, proving an assimilation of a wide pallet of styles and a further extrapolation of these themes into an original composition. From the guitar scales inspired by Pink Floyd on "Dignity" to the harmonic allusions to The Beatles on "Charlatan", the group creates a reinterpretation of their sources, painting a personal retrospective on a unique musical universe.
On some portions, the album returns to a heavier sound, this time totally different from their death-metal records. The group appeals to the vintage part of metal and enriches its sensibilities with adventurous theatrical passages. It’s clear that the youthful exuberance disappeared, and the album is a cerebral look back to a more exclusivist style. There stays the complex character, in the total expression of admiration for a music that only knew small variations on the first era’s albums. Accomplished and charming, "In Cauda Venenum" beautifully combines the harsh guitars and the acoustic reveries, the music evidencing a conceptual thread, more defined than any of their efforts. As the title suggests, they still have poison in the tail, but their stature is classier (as the distinguished cover illustration). Sophisticated and clever, the record constitutes a victory in homogeneity, avoiding the collage character that could come from such a complex fusion of styles.
In spite of the essential traits that make "In Cauda Venenum" the most confident of Opeth’s albums, it has a character that distances it from the status of their greatest album. The sound loses the beauty of playing the game, the desire to explore, aiming instead for an absoluteness that misses the uncommon and amazement. It doesn’t provoke anything, and the style remains constant until the end. After several listens, the musical force begins to fade, and the listener has the impression that he has witnessed a beautiful album, but not a revelation. Everything becomes too conventional, too balanced. The imperfection destined to create contrast and ambiguity is absent, suppressing the fascinating profoundness born from excess.
Anyway, "In Cauda Venenum" represents the maturity of Opeth, and it certainly is a memorable work, even if it doesn’t reach the level of their consecrated albums. It has a conceptual center, showcasing a sound that underlines the melody of the inner substance. An appropriate entrance into the Opeth's universe for anyone who can’t stand death metal’s dissonances, "In Cauda Venenum" encapsulates the weight of the band’s musical approach, this strong point exceeding the downside of a drowsy composition. I perceived the album as a career’s testament, being one of the works that contributed to the band’s prestige. It has a sound that will be difficult to replicate in the future without feeling like an uninspired imitation. Now the band is choosing to stick to the record’s virtues, their new ideas not knowing an expression. What remains certain is that "In Cauda Venenum" eloquently touches the depths of Opeth’s current era, continuing to be a pinnacle of our times’ progressive-rock. Conceiving masterfully a singular distillation of an elaborate sound, it refuses to fall into oblivion due to its interpretative passion and atmospheric spell.
