It's impressive that the Swedish band that's basically synonymous with prog metal is still putting out albums (and band line ups) after 30 years. Starting out as "the world's most evil band" on the death metal scene of some bumfuck village in southern Sweden, OPETH have determinedly shifted towards prog rock, creating their own distinctly genre-bending mix of clean and dirty. They've released 13 albums, culminating in the 2019 release of In Cauda Venenum. That's what this tour is all about. I understand it means "the sting is in the tail" or like, "an unwanted surprise at the end." So progressive. What could that possibly mean? What if it was just Mikael Akerfeldt telling everyone, for the umpteenth time, that he thinks growling is boring? He's mastered it. He's nodding off at the microphone, guys. Where's the challenge? Where's the art. If you want to go take it up with him in person, they're playing at MAO Livehouse on December 2. Tickets to Opeth China Tour 2019 start at 480rmb over on SmartTicket.