In the creative process, whether in music, art, even fine cuisine, sometimes just a little change can make a big difference. Denver’s In the Company of Serpents have entertained us for a few years now with some interesting Doom/cross genre Metal. With “Lux” the simple addition of full-time bassist Ben Pitts adds the “missing ingredient” that the earlier work was missing all along. That’s no slight for vocalist and guitarist Grant Netzorg and drummer J.P. Damron; it’s just the whole sound and structure benefits turning what could have been another perfectly good record into an excellent one.
Album opener “The Fools Journey” showcases not just how far this band have evolved with the maturity and confidence of both the writing and the playing. You got caught out with the sudden change from the dreamy Post Metal intro jumping into massive cyclic riffing like someone had bumped into you record player, right? This characterises how far this band have come. There are little hints and references to so many genres and styles it makes them hard to pin down, and as ethereal and Doom-laden as they are, there is a playful side; a “light”. And that is indeed the subject around which the album’s lyrics grow. The “Prima Materia” (the first created – “Let There be Light”) is both the theme and the album’s swirling epic closing track. Between the two is a journey with many twists and turns through the darkness, with the music you companion in the search for the light.
