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Sweden’s OPETH are preparing to release their most important record to date with »In Cauda Venenum«. Certainly, fans and critics will have their opinion, but few records in the Swedes’ oeuvre are as engaging, delicate, panoramic, intense, and musical as OPETH’s lucky thirteenth. Sporting a clever Travis Smith cover – replete with inside jokes and a nod to KING DIAMOND – a masterful Park Studios (The Hellacopters, Graveyard) production, OPETH’s usual five-star musicianship, and lyrics entirely in Swedish, »In Cauda Venenum« raises the bar markedly. While a record in Swedish is a first—there’s also an English version—for frontman and founding member Mikael Åkerfeldt, the 10 songs on offer feel and sound completely natural. As if years of listening to and being a fan of Swedish rock and hard rock has paid off. In a way, Opeth have come home. But the Swedish lyrics of the primary edition of »In Cauda Venenum« shouldn’t distract from the quality presented in OPETH’s new songs, the lot of which sneak up and take control after repeated listens. »In Cauda Venenum« is like that, tricky in its complicated simplicity, resourceful in its ability to charm with delightful if wistful melodies. Really, it’s just OPETH being OPETH.

Walk the Moon lit up the pop world in 2014 with "Shut Up and Dance," a giddy love song that's become a staple of baseball-stadium dance-cam breaks and sweaty parties thanks to its anthemic, commanding chorus and jittery, Eighties-inflected feel. With their new record What If Nothing, the Cincinnati-based band is ready to show fans what else it can do.

Change is good. Change is important. Change is the enemy of stagnation, a vital means to keep things fresh, innovative and exciting. For TAX THE HEAT, ‘change’ means something else too. The title track of the acclaimed British band’s stunning new album, »Change Your Position«, sees them addressing the turbulent state of the world right now and the very real impact it is having on people. “It’s looking at division in society and people using it as an excuse to do wrong and say wrong,” says singer and guitarist Alex Veale. “It’s saying, ‘Look, change your position.’ It’s holding up a mirror to things.” Fittingly, »Change Your Position« - recorded once again with maverick producer Evansson - represents a huge leap forward for TAX THE HEAT, who are completed by guitarist JP Jacyshyn, bassist Antonio Angotti and drummer Jack Taylor.