Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will release “In Cauda Venenum (Extended Edition)” on May 13 via Atomic Fire Records.
This release, available on digipak, contains the English and Swedish versions of OPETH’s latest album, “In Cauda Venenum”, with new illustrations by internationally renowned Travis Smith in the booklet. In addition, there is also a third CD including three previously unreleased bonus tracks, both in English and Swedish: “The Mob” / “Pöbeln”, “Width Of A Circle” / “Cirkelns Riktning” and “Freedom & Tyranny” / “Frihet & Tyranni”.
“In Cauda Venenum (Extended Edition)” is now available for pre-order. Also on May 13, the album’s strictly limited “Connoisseur Edition” vinyl boxset, which includes the same bonus tracks but remastered by Mikael Åkerfeldt specifically for vinyl, will be available in the North American retail stores for the first time. Both album editions will also be available at the band’s merch table on the upcoming North American tour.
“In Cauda Venenum” was originally released in September 2019 via Moderbolaget / Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Recorded in 2018 at Stockholm’s Park Studios, the effort was made available in two versions, in both Swedish and English languages.
Regarding the decision to release “In Cauda Venenum” in Swedish, Åkerfeldt told Revolver: “Doing it in Swedish was just an idea that popped into my head, like, ‘Maybe I should fry my egg in the morning instead of boiling it.’ It wasn’t any deeper than that. And I figured the music climate has changed so much, does it really matter which language it’s in? That was it. And it didn’t have me writing more lyrics — it just had me writing more music. And the music didn’t sound more Swedish or anything like that. But it was a gateway that opened, and it was fun.
Mikael added that he is “not regretting” the fact that “In Cauda Venenum” was also recorded in English. “A lot of people [in the U.S.] are saying they only listened to the English version,” he said. “So I was proven right, in a way. I can say a thousand times that the Swedish version is the original version, but it’s up to people to choose. I can just hope that they check out both versions. But I do think the Swedish version is slightly better — only because it was first. It’s more innocent. With the English version, regardless of what you think about it, that’s me trying to copy a vocal line I had done in another language. So it’s less exciting to me.”
