Warthur Garden of the Titans captures a live set from Opeth which, coming after the release of Sorceress, follows a string of albums (beginning with Heritage) where they had more or less abandoned metal entirely. The set list mixes their gentler progressive rock material with more progressive metal-oriented pieces in a setlist which seamlessly blends both sides of their sound, and so the album stands as evidence that if Opeth have stopped making metal albums, it's not because they are no longer able or willing to play metal - they're just working on a different aspect of their portfolio for the time being.

Several of the songs here are Opeth live standards - indeed, if you have The Roundhouse Tapes you have renditions of several of these from about a decade earlier - but there's enough tracks which haven't seen the light of day on an official Opeth live release to ensure it doesn't feel redundant. And if you've convinced yourself that Opeth can't do justice to their metal side any more, just listen to the furious version of Deliverance that rounds out this exceptional set.

Warthur Emerging in between Ghost Reveries and Watershed, The Roundhouse Tapes chronicles an Opeth live set from the latter days of their metal phase - a point when they'd been working their style of prog-death metal sufficiently long to become elder statesmen of the extreme metal-influenced school of progressive music and the prog-influenced side of extreme metal, but before the run of albums starting with Heritage saw them move away from metal entirely.

Here they are on fine form, offering up a slew of tracks from a wide cross-section of their discography - with pieces ranging from Ghost Reveries, then their most recent album, to their debut Orchid. As such, the setlist mingles iconic tracks with deep cuts from early days given new life and a greatly refreshed take thanks to the years of additional experience the band are able to bring to bear.

UMUR "In Cauda Venenum" is the 13th full-length studio album by Swedish progressive rock/metal actOpeth. The album was released through Moderbolaget Records in September 2019. It´s the successor to "Sorceress" from September 2016 and features the exact same quintet lineup who recorded the predecessor. "In Cauda Venenum" was released in three different versions. One double album version featuring the album in a Swedish language version and an English language version (on two discs), and two seperate one-album versions featuring the Swedish language version and the English language version. The instrumental part of the music is the same on all releases/versions, only the lyrics and the language are different.

Stylistically the material on "In Cauda Venenum" is in the heavy progressive rock style with folk leanings that Opeth have played since "Heritage" (2011). It´s dymamic music featuring both louder heavy parts, epic progressive parts, but also mellow acoustic parts. There is an omnipresence of vintage keyboards/synths/organ, along with equally organic sounding bass, guitars, and vocals. It´s arguably 70s influenced progressive rock, but the early 90s Swedish progressive rock revival scene and artists like Landberk and Anekdoten are also valid references. Opeth compose solid and relatively memorable material, but they don´t exactly invent the wheel here. Most of the elements, timbres, and atmospheres have been heard and experienced before on preceding progressive rock releases by other artists.

"In Cauda Venenum" features a detailed, powerful, and well sounding production, which suits the material well, and although the material could have prospered from more original compositional ideas, the high quality musicianship and Mikael Åkerfeldt easily recognisable voice and passionate delivery save the day, even when the material doesn´t shine. The idea to sing in their native language is a good one, and the Swedish language version is a nice new element, which provides the album with a needed touch of something unique. Other Swedish progressive rock artists have sung in the Swedish language, but for Opeth it´s a first on a full release, and it makes "In Cauda Venenum" stand out in their discography. So upon conclusion "In Cauda Venenum" is a good quality release by Opeth and it should please fans of heavy progressive rock featuring a melancholic atmosphere. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Following a triptych of albums which largely abandoned metal (but for a few momentary outbursts here and there) in favour of a retro-progressive rock approach, Opeth's In Cauda Venenum at first seems like it's going to continue that approach. However, to my ears it seems like there's substantially more modern touches here - some quieter passages reminiscent of those on Opeth's earliest albums, some loud passages that put me in mind of late-period Arcturus, if given a bit more of a rock direction in place of their black metal roots.

Once again, Mikael Åkerfeldt's vocals - which I thought was often the least interesting aspect of their earlier material - have really come ahead in leaps and bounds. The album was actually released in two versions, one with English vocals and one with Swedish, though I'd say he now sounds more comfortable singing in English than ever.

If you are pining for Opeth's extreme metal days, and only regard them as interesting for the death metal side of their sound, then this won't win you back - but nor would any album since at least as far back as Watershed. If, on the other hand, you appreciate what they've been doing from Heritage onwards, this is another excellent evolution of that approach, which I feel has only been getting better and better on subsequent releases.

Warthur Sorceress finds Opeth continuing the run of nostalgic prog albums that began with Heritage and continued through Pale Communion. As on those two albums, the band show a keen appreciation of not just the prog rock bands of the past, but also the sounds which were influencing and inspiring those bands.

Pale Communion had its moments where it took on influence from the heavier end of psychedelic rock, and Sorceress finds the band deepening their appreciation of and drawing on the psychedelic sounds which the early prog scene coalesced out of. Indeed, one song is named The Wilde Flowers, after the band which would, post-fracture, spawn Caravan and The Soft Machine, and whilst I wouldn't say the band go full Canterbury here, I would say there's passages on here which aren't entirely incompatible with that.

Other tracks, such as Will O the Wisp, have a folky air to them and a general production approach highly reminiscent of Jethro Tull from the early 1970s, or heavier moments. The band have still more or less exited the metal sphere on this album, but Chrysalis is hard rocking enough to suggest a potential route back, with a pulsing intensity which puts me in mind of Hawkwind.

Whilst many Opeth albums took a while to grow on me, Sorceress gripped me from the start, and I think it's an excellent further improvement of the approach of Heritage and Pale Communion.

kluseba I really like a few studio albums of this band, especially "Blackwater Park" and "Watershed", so I bought this slipcase compilation by Koch Records with three studio albums and this exclusive live CD. That's why I will just talk about what I hear and not what I see on this release.

And what I hear is not very positive. The band divided its set in two halfs, the first one is based on their acoustic stuff from the "Damnation" album. The acoustic album has a really introspective atmosphere on the album, but it doesn't work at all on stage. Each song seems to be alike, the live versions sound exactly like the studio versions, the band has no contact with the silent and hypnotized crowd and there is no magic in the air. After a few songs, this first part of the album makes you fall asleep because of its infinite boredom. The most interesting song is the only one which is not included on the "Damnation" album, "Harvest", which develops a magic warmth and gives me at least some goose bumps and chills.

The second half of the album is a lot heavier and more progressive and wakes the crowd up a little bit. But the heavier song are performed with a lack of passion and intesity and work less well as the studio versions. The band does some routine work but I can't feel any passion in it. This part is a little bit more enthousiastic than the first part, but not by much.

Another problem of this release is - due to legal problems - that the setlist is mostly limited on the three last albums and not very diversified. That's a sad thing because the early works of the band had some magic moments and something powerful and fresh.

I can't recommend this CD (or even DVD) and would give the advice to listen to the studio albums instead.

AtomicCrimsonRush "Big gig today, people, big gig".

Okay, I finally got around to seeing Opeth live at Royal Albert Hall with a bunch of fans, and as usual with Opeth, as far as I am concerned, it is a real hit and miss affair. Parts of the concert send me into bliss with gorgeous guitars and vocals and amazing dextrous lead guitar with choppy riffs, and parts make me search for the skip button. Okay let's get past the first point of concern for me; the concert is perhaps designed for the younger target audience who prefer death metal growls over actual singing. To be honest there is a heck of a lot of gravel voice vocals on this, more than I expected or wished, as I have 4 albums and there are definitely large chunks without growling on albums; though not so here. Unfortunately, this live performance really focuses on the heavier side of Opeth with only the occasional let up in speed and growling. When Akerfeldt sings clean vocals it is mesmirising so I wish he'd shut the dang death growls up as it is really not that impressive. The band play all of Blackwater Park but I would have preferred Still Life.

Another point about the DVD is that the crowd are rather a subdued lot. Their preferred colour is black and mostly guys are present with a smattering of females. The crowd stand still, not much bouncing and moshing as they are there to listen I guess, not have a full body thrash work out. They are definitely into the music and enjoying it, but it is not a mosh session, which shows how different Opeth are in comparison to death metal bands that incite a virtual riot when playing live. The crowd are head banging and raising the horns as you expect. You can hear then yell out stuff during the pauses between tracks, at times quite amusing too.

Yet another point to make about this live DVD is it really is a no frills concert, a bit of smoke and some cool lighting, occasional strobes and an ominous glowing logo with the large screen showing pictures of forests and water, and album covers, to generate a part of the atmosphere, with nice swirling lights cascading across the transfixed crowd. The band pretty much stand in the one place and thrash one track after another, and head bang during the instrumentals. They don't speak much at all at first. At one point Akerfeldt pretends he is going to say something and then stops and just plays; quite a humorous touch. At the end of 'April Ethereal', Akerfeldt begins to open up, he does mention that the band have gone through changes; "a few people have been (pause) fired (laughter) and we have a new lineup". He then intros the guys that are new to rapturous applause. Then he mentions how he used to write when he was too poor to afford a demo and recording equipment. He just wrote things like the Morbid Angel riff 4 times, freaked out bridge and the Bathory section. Ironically I referenced those two bands on my review for Still Life ("The growling reminded me of the black metal I used to listen to with the likes of Bathory or Morbid Angel.") so I wasn't far off the mark as Opeth definitely are influenced by this extreme metal sound. Akerfeldt mentions that Still Life is their most complicated album and then proceeds to play the awesome 'The Moor' from this.

From the beautiful acoustic guitar, it leads to the familiar distorted riffs that blast in without remorse. Akerfeldt's growls are brutal and soul chilling. There is a clean vocal chorus and it is so refreshing. I longed for more of this. At 6 minutes in the riffing stops and we have an acoustic interlude, a moment of respite. The Damnation style clean vocals chime in and they are so good, like a different band. I was drawn into the music at this point. At the end of 'The Moor' Akerfeldt asks "was it good?" which is funny as obviously the response would be a massive roar. He tells the tale of how Steven Wilson emailed him once. The crowd roars at hearing that name mentioned in their presence. He goes onto say that "we hooked up, had dinner, kissed, and I asked him to produce the next record which was gonna be Blackwater Park." But Steve was also involved in Deliverance "making it more sick and evil and twisted" he continues, and he says they should play something nice as they are in such a nice environment "but we want to be bad." I kind of like these moments as it shows the humour of the band and their personalities come through.

Another point about this section of the concert during 'The Wreath', is that Akerfeldt snaps a string and does a very fast guitar switch. His hand signal to the roadie is interesting as he just stops playing but keeps growling away. The roadie just hands him a new guitar and plugs it in as Akerfeldt screams "cover me with sweat" and he just hooks it over his shoulder and starts playing it as if nothing happened. Well worth checking that out. Axe's drumming should be commended too as it is fantastic, though many might miss the style of Lopez of course. I liked his cymbals with holes in them. 'The Wreath' is a thrashy fast thing that has the cookie monster vocals, (I know, I stole that phrase from a reviewer here but that's what it is) and I prefer Oscar the Grouch vocals myself. 'The Wreath' comes from my least favourite Opeth album but was tolerable due to the amazing chord changes and structure.

In the pause between the songs, a girl yells out that she loves Akerfeldt, and he replies "how you doin'?" as he seems quite shy and nervous which is better than being obnoxious of course. The girl has leaped over the barricade and as she is escorted off by guards everyone applauds. Akerfeldt says it's a long show for a metal singer but luckily he still has a bit of voice. At this stage I was hoping that meant he would sing some quieter stuff. He does the beautiful 'Hope Leaves' from Damnation and of course it is a highlight for my ears. I love that album and every song on it is compelling; in fact that is how I came to know Opeth so it is personally one of my favourite moments of the show. The purple and blue lights with sparkling logo give the stage an ethereal appearance.

Then next is a moment of brilliance from Ghost Reveries, 'Harlequin Forest'. I must admit the concert was improving for me as the band moved onto the more progressive sound. The concert ends with Watershed's 'The Lotus Eater', which is of course is excellent as always. Akerfeldt mentions the leaving of Peter and Martin and intros the new members again. Axe has dyed his hair just for this concert, he says. This track is a masterful progressive thing with amazing time changes and innovation throughout. This time Fred breaks a string, or has a technical goof, and stuffs up his solo and it is quite humorous how he plays silently while the roadie tries to rig up a new guitar. Akerfeldt and the others watch with amusement as Fred is hooked up. The crowd quietly clap observing with interest. When Fred begins to play again there is a roar and the whole thing is an unforgettable moment. The band could easily have edited this out but kudos for keeping it in as it provides some entertaining and interesting footage. I believe in the interview mention is made of how a camera man stepped on a pedal and screwed up the sound, and these moments are what make this concert so compelling, as it is a raw concert DVD with all the mistakes unedited but left for us to talk about. There were some conversations about this section with the guys I watched with. It actually provided more intelligent conversations than the rest of the DVD which were basically phrases like, "awesome, unbelievable, shredder, what's he on about, Axe is better, I miss Lopez, and, shut those bloody growls up." At the end the band have a photo opportunity with lots of Opeth addicts and after a bow it is over with a standing ovation.

The special features are generally similar to Pain of Salvation, and Dream Theatre DVDs, in that they show a lot of behind the scenes stuff, tour footage, some interviews, fans spouting off "I am dead serious when I say Mikael Akerfeldt is the reincarnation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart", and a few outtakes from songs. They sign CDs and apparel, take photos of fans and talk at the fans meet and greet, one says "best day ever" and another is shivering with excitement. The sound check was intriguing, done in front of some chosen fans. I like the comment when they are heading down the stairwell to the stage and we hear someone say "It's Spinal Tap." We see a bit of the clean up afterwards, meeting fans back stage who are terminally polite and grateful and Fredrik turns to the camera and says, "you are nothing without your fans never forget that", and there are roadies loading the trucks while the band have a quiet drink with friends. In the truck Fred talks about the mistakes but said they were part of it all after months of build up and the tension they felt. We see Opeth hanging round bars and visiting a Deli with an eccentric owner, and we see them in the trucks getting drunker and funnier.These moments were highlights for me and held more interest than the actual concert.

Overall, this is a great concert for Opeth addicts of course, there are quieter moments but you have to search for them, but it delivers the heavier side of the band with brutal aggression. That is the target audience and it definitely is an extreme sound, and the Opeth fans sitting with me are obviously under the impression that it is a flawless DVD. Seeing past the fan boyism it really is not a masterpiece at all but certainly an excellent live record of the very special event. Personally I look forward to them touring Heritage as that would be worth seeing.

bartosso Valuable music - Voluble Mike

I'm a huge Opeth fan so I bought this release on spec. I'm not disappointed, oh no. Quite the opposite, it's one of the best live releases I've ever seen. Absolutely flawless execution, almost perfect sound, very good set list = fantastic DVD release!

What is a very distinctive feature of this concert, and every Opeth concert in general, is a lack of any kind of rock/metal pose or showing off. There is professionally illuminated stage of Roundhouse and an old good folk sample which serve as a introduction to their concerts since I remember. The band members enter the stage and without unnecessary fuss start to play.

If you remember Mike from LAMENTATIONS as a shy and mellow guy you might be surprised by his present stage behaviour. Mike from Roundhouse is a funny guy with many good (and sometimes not so good) jokes to hand. He feels at ease on stage and with the audience and it's admirable. Still, for some people his long conversations with the fans might be slightly irritating.

ROUNDHOUSE TAPES is a very well produced album, and what's more, almost completely devoid of mistakes usually made by musicians playing live. However, there is one thing which might be annoying for minimalism fanatics. Namely, the producers decided to ornament mellow and atmospheric parts of the concert with retro filters which are supposed to enhance the Opeth experience. If it worked you should check on your own.