Opeth Release 17 Minutes of New Music, ‘In Cauda Venenum’ Gets Release Date
Opeth have finally returned with 17 minutes of new music. Two versions of a fresh song have been released — one in English (“Heart in Hand”) and another in Opeth’s native Swedish ("Hjärtat Vet Vad Handen Gör”).
This is Opeth’s first new piece of music since Sorceress was unveiled in 2016. Both editions of “Heart in Hand” are beautifully heavy and filled with the band’s unmistakable take on modern prog. Mikael Akerfeldt’s clean vocals are gorgeous and dramatic, punctuating high notes in each verse with impeccable taste.
The first six minutes of “Heart in Hand” are wild and unrelenting, absent of Opeth’s signature quiet interludes. The Swedish veterans save those dynamics for the song’s final two-and-a-half minutes, which is entirely ballad-esque.
“It’s got one of the ‘happy mistakes’ in it,” Akerfeldt says about the new track. “Mendez’s bass broke down in the middle of recording. At the time he played an old Hofner Beatles-esque bass guitar that started humming real bad, but it sounded so good we immediately decided to keep it in there.”
“I’d be putting myself down if I said that noise is the best part of the song, but it’s up there! I like when stuff happens out of your control, and it actually adds to the piece.”
Akerfeldt also explains that In Cauda Venenum has been recorded entirely in both Swedish and English, with the Swedish version being the “main” album. “Making the record in Swedish was the spark. It got the music going. Down the line, I got anxious about the idea though. I started to think, ‘Maybe, they [the fans] won’t listen to it all because it’s in Swedish.’ I’ll admit I was chicken shit about not having an English version. So, I went ahead and made an English version as well. To me, the Swedish version is the main version, the most important version to me, and the version I want people to listen to first. Obviously, we wanted to give fans the choice though.”
Listen to both versions of Opeth’s new cut above. Lucky album No. 13, In Cauda Venenum, will be released on Sept. 27.
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