In the Company of Serpents are a doom/sludge band from the US and this is their fourth album.
Having thoroughly enjoyed Merging in Light and Ain-Soph Aur, a new 44 minutes of music from In the Company of Serpents is very welcome indeed.
An album of apocalyptic gloom peppered with flecks of hope and light, Lux is a well-rounded and accomplished piece of work. Building on the increased diversity and quality levels that were found on their last release, Lux is an album of light and shade, from the crushingly heavy to the sublime.
The songs are well-developed and well-written, with a clearer, less-filthy sound, which allows the band to showcase their talents unhindered. The music combines doom, sludge, and post-metal together, as well as effectively utilising bluesy Americana influences. These latter aspects help add character, nuance, and atmosphere to the heavy groove, and have really come into their own on Lux, helping the band to further craft a true identity of their own. But even when the band are at their heaviest, there’s more emphasis on mood and atmosphere than ever, rather than just relying on overwhelming distortion for the sake/love of it. There’s plenty of nuance and intricacy on display in places.
There are some guests here too; a violinist, who plays on two interludes, and the singers of Primitive Man and Khemmis, who both appear on the same song.
I like that the band have got even better at incorporating all of their various influences into their music, and the atmospheric sludge/post-metal that they have produced on Lux is arguably their strongest material to date. Lux is a very enjoyable and rewarding album, full of depth and quality music. Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 