IN CAUDA VENENUM

Not really an Opeth album - more of a Mikael Akerfeldt solo project. The atmosphere is more relaxed, more retro and very 70's. Akerfeldt seems very comfortable leaving the extreme prog-metal behind, although he knows that his fans still want the heavy stuff. Three major tracks are "Dignity", "Heart In Hand" and the orchestral "Next Of Kin". The album never recovers from there, trying to be eclectic but gets a bit boring and mundane, in the process. By the time I reach the closer "All Things Will Pass", not much enthusiasm is left. So it sounds pretty good from a production perspective, and Akerfeldt surely knows how to arrange his songs - but this is clearly not the Opeth metal monster of the great years (1999-2005). All in all, this new product will enable Opeth to expand its stage repertoire, reach an older audience and perhaps to get closer to the world of Steven Wilson and the long-gone Porcupine Tree. It's not Opeth's best work to date (far from it), but it's good enough to be listened to.