In Cauda Venenum

In Cauda Venenum
Studio album by Opeth
Released	27 September 2019 (2019-09-27)
Recorded	18 November 2018 – 6 March 2019
Studio	Park Studios / Psykbunkern in Stockholm, Sweden Junkmail Studios in Stockholm, Sweden Angel Recording Studios in London, England
Genre	Progressive rock[1][2] progressive metal[1]
Length	67:57
Language	English Swedish
Label	Moderbolaget Nuclear Blast
Producer	Opeth Mikael Åkerfeldt Stefan Boman Dave Stewart[1]
Opeth chronology
Garden of the Titans: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater (2018) In Cauda Venenum (2019) The Last Will and Testament (2024)
Singles from In Cauda Venenum
"Heart in Hand" / "Hjärtat vet vad handen gör" Released: July 12, 2019 "Dignity" / "Svekets Prins" Released: August 16, 2019

In Cauda Venenum (Latin for "Poison in the tail") is the thirteenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released on 27 September 2019 through Moderbolaget and Nuclear Blast.^[3] It was released in two versions: a Swedish-language version and an English-language version.^[4] The band toured in support of the album throughout 2019 and into 2020.^[5] At 67 minutes and 57 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album. It is also the band's last album to feature drummer Martin Axenrot before his departure in 2021.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blabbermouth.net	8/10[7]
Exclaim!	favorable[8]
Consequence of Sound	A[9]
Kerrang!	[10]
Metal Storm	7.8/10[11]
NME	[12]
PopMatters	9/10[13]
The Quietus	favourable[2]
Sputnikmusic	3.7/5[14]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[15] The album received a score of 10 out of 10 from Wall of Sound, who stated it was "the best album the band has ever created in their prog era".^[16] Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.^[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mikael Åkerfeldt

English version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Garden of Earthly Delights"	3:28
2.	"Dignity"	6:36
3.	"Heart in Hand"	8:30
4.	"Next of Kin"	7:10
5.	"Lovelorn Crime"	6:34
6.	"Charlatan"	5:29
7.	"Universal Truth"	7:30
8.	"The Garroter"	6:45
9.	"Continuum"	7:22
10.	"All Things Will Pass"	8:33
Total length:		67:57

Swedish version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Livets trädgård"	3:28
2.	"Svekets prins"	6:36
3.	"Hjärtat vet vad handen gör"	8:29
4.	"De närmast sörjande"	7:10
5.	"Minnets yta"	6:34
6.	"Charlatan"	5:29
7.	"Ingen sanning är allas"	7:21
8.	"Banemannen"	6:43
9.	"Kontinuerlig drift"	7:23
10.	"Allting tar slut"	8:31
Total length:		67:44

Extended Edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Garden of Earthly Delights"	3:28
2.	"Dignity"	6:36
3.	"Heart in Hand"	8:30
4.	"Next of Kin"	7:10
5.	"Lovelorn Crime"	6:34
6.	"Charlatan"	5:29
7.	"Universal Truth"	7:30
8.	"The Garroter"	6:45
9.	"Continuum"	7:22
10.	"All Things Will Pass"	8:33
11.	"The Mob"	4:36
12.	"Width of a Circle"	5:31
13.	"Freedom & Tyranny"	4:35
14.	"Livets trädgård"	3:28
15.	"Svekets prins"	6:36
16.	"Hjärtat vet vad handen gör"	8:29
17.	"De närmast sörjande"	7:10
18.	"Minnets yta"	6:34
19.	"Charlatan"	5:29
20.	"Ingen sanning är allas"	7:21
21.	"Banemannen"	6:43
22.	"Kontinuerlig drift"	7:23
23.	"Allting tar slut"	8:31
24.	"Pöbeln"	4:36
25.	"Cirkelns riktning"	5:31
26.	"Frihet & tyranni"	4:35

Personnel

Opeth

• Mikael Åkerfeldt – lead and backing vocals, guitars and ramblings, string arrangements
• Fredrik Åkesson – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals, whistles, coughs
• Martin Axenrot – drums and percussion
• Martín Méndez – bass guitars
• Joakim Svalberg – keyboards and backing vocals

Technical personnel

• Mikael Åkerfeldt – production
• Stefan Boman with Opeth – co-production, engineering, mixing
• Tom Jondelius – studio assistant
• Dave Stewart – string arrangements
• Geoff Pesche – mastering at Abbey Road Studios
• Travis Smith – artwork and design for Seempieces
• Jasper Schuurmans – project coordination

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18]	20
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19]	15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20]	17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21]	13
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22]	49
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23]	16
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[24]	2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25]	5
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[26]	29
Irish Albums (IRMA)[27]	65
Italian Albums (FIMI)[28]	24
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29]	97
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[30]	9
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[31]	19
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32]	4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[33]	26
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34]	12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35]	10
UK Albums (OCC)[36]	13
US Billboard 200[37]	59

References

1. Jurek, Thom. In Cauda Venenum at AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
2. Brown, Dean (30 September 2019). "Opeth – In Cauda Venenum". The Quietus. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
3. "Opeth Set September Release For New Album 'In Cauda Venenum', Debut 'Heart In Hand'". theprp.com. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
4. "Opeth's In Cauda Venenum: in-depth rock luxury from 21st-century prog monarchs". loudersound.com. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
5. "OPETH To Release 'In Cauda Venenum' Album In The Fall; Track Listing, Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
6. "In Cauda Venenum". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
7. "Opeth In Cauda Venenum". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
8. Wojcicki, Lukas (2 October 2019). "Opeth In Cauda Venenum". Exclaim!. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
9. Pementel, Michael (26 September 2019). "Opeth's Progressive Creativity Shines on In Cauda Venenum". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
10. Russell, Nick (25 September 2019). "Album Review: Opeth – In Cauda Venenum". Kerrang!. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
11. "Opeth – In Cauda Venenum review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
12. McMahon, James (23 September 2019). "Opeth – 'In Cauda Venenum' review: a sonic brew that could sedate a herd of buffalo". NME. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
13. Blum, Jordan (23 September 2019). "Opeth Achieve Gothic Greatness with the Gorgeously Multifaceted 'In Cauda Venenum'". PopMatters. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
14. Kuettel, Benjamin. "Opeth - In Cauda Venenum". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
15. In Cauda Venenum by Opeth, retrieved 6 November 2024
16. "Opeth – In Cauda Venenum (Album Review)". Wall of Sound. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
17. "The 50 Best Metal Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
18. "Australiancharts.com – Opeth – In cauda venenum". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Opeth – In cauda venenum" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
20. "Ultratop.be – Opeth – In cauda venenum" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
21. "Ultratop.be – Opeth – In cauda venenum" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
22. "Opeth Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Opeth – In cauda venenum" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
24. "Opeth: In cauda venenum" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Opeth – In cauda venenum" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
26. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2019. 40. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
27. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Opeth". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
28. "Italiancharts.com – Opeth – In cauda venenum". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
29. "Opeth". Oricon. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
30. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 40, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
31. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
33. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 40: del 27.9.2019 al 3.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
34. "Swedishcharts.com – Opeth – In cauda venenum". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
35. "Swisscharts.com – Opeth – In cauda venenum". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
36. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
37. "Opeth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2019.