God’s Spit by Codex Serafini–Album Review
God’s Spit by Codex Serafini–Album Review
The five-piece band Codex Serafini originated in Sussex, England. Does the name come from the Codex Serafinian, the illustrated encyclopedia of an imaginary world? It seems probable but I can’t say for sure. Either way, this unique group, a Saturnian Ritualistic band, deserves a unique description.
Codex Serafini has one particularly distinctive trait: they’re a band without an ego. They perform completely incognito. You’ve got to respect them for that! The question is this: does stripping away the ego from the music enhance creativity or merely give the members an excuse to avoid individual criticism?
Their latest work God’s Spit is a live album consisting of nine tracks, the first being “Liber”, which is a short (2 min 25 sec), straight-ahead rock-style number with strong vocals that play off the drums. The saxophone inflects a decidedly Eastern influence while the guitar work adds an enjoyable rock element.
“Organismic Thought” blares out of the starting blocks with twenty seconds of feedback that melds into an all-encompassing wall of sound. It builds but then changes course, draining down into a slower yet equally intense drive. It then builds to a crescendo of schizophrenic anarchy before fading.
“Crawling Space” starts with a low groan and quickly ascends to a chorus of echoes intertwined with saxophone riffs and slick guitar work resembling electronic pulses. In the final minute and a half, the vocals turn to background chants as the instruments build and ultimately dominate.
“Cronus” is a cerebral piece with its echo-enhanced vocals and subtle, yet all-encompassing sound. There are some stand-out sax parts and, unlike most of the band’s work, the song ends abruptly.
“Janus”, the fifth cut on God’s Spit is just fifty-two seconds but starts strong and never lets up. The guitar work here is masterful, and the vocals are spot on.
“Fountains of Enceladus” blasts full force toward all your senses. As quickly as it establishes a theme, it changes to a see-saw repetition of strong guitar and vocals accented by an equally strong saxophone.
unknown fan
“Speaking in Tongues” begins with a heavy guitar that meanders into an almost weeping-like vocal over a steady bass line, which builds as the guitar work intensifies and the tempo increases. Eventually, the track goes into a pounding crescendo that has this entire tidal wave of music crashing into your senses– like the free-form jazz of Miles Davis on Bitches Brew.
The longest cut at six minutes and four seconds, “Mendoza’s Memory” starts with an Eastern-influenced melodic guitar riff that erupts into a powerful sax-dominated movement with intricate and enthralling guitar work. As is normal for Codex Serafini compositions, this song frequently changes in tempo and intensity– a disjointed march that evolves into a Gregorian chant. Towards the end of the piece, the song reverts to the Eastern-influenced riff from which it began.
The album ends with “Time, Change and Become”, which features first-rate vocals that are used as the primary instrument and intertwine with the rest of the music while emphasizing each note–so as not to be drowned out by the rest of the band. It’s impressive how the track switches back and forth from punchy rock stylings to ethereal psychedelic moments.
What is truly amazing is that this is a LIVE album. If I hadn’t been told, I’d never have known, which illustrates just how talented these musicians are, and how unique this work is.
courtesy of Codex Serafini
Events and tickets:
31st March – Ipswich
https://www.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini/the-smokehouse/25532151st April – Chelmsford
https://dice.fm/event/d8lxq-codex-serafini-guranfoe-1st-apr-hot-box
https://www.facebook.com/events/11165395490295492nd April – Bristol
https://www.facebook.com/events/587699463172297/
Tickets • hdfst.uk/E844316th April – Birmingham (Free Entry)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1532504509383177th April – Sheffield
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/codex-serafinideadcosmonautsdearthworms-hatch-tickets-547766212487
https://www.facebook.com/events/18388239931483898th April – Rotherham
https://www.facebook.com/events/2005429192278799th April -Leeds
https://www.facebook.com/events/477191801103721
https://www.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini-amon-acid-special-guest/boom/2556001
11th Apri – Canterbury https://www.facebook.com/events/887872902532096
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/570148
12th April – Brighton
https://www.facebook.com/events/1578106789323432 https://meltingvinyl.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini-special-guests/the-green-door-store/2553285
14th April – St Leonards
https://www.facebook.com/events/s/codex-serafini-beau-cosmic-whi/1086187186117787/
https://dice.fm/event/lorox-codex-serafini-14th
15th April – Manchester
https://www.fatsoma.com/e/8jlzc6l0/ombudsmen-codex-serafini-slow-knife
https://www.facebook.com/events/935707280896282
Events and tickets:
31st March – Ipswich
https://www.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini/the-smokehouse/25532151st April – Chelmsford
https://dice.fm/event/d8lxq-codex-serafini-guranfoe-1st-apr-hot-box
https://www.facebook.com/events/11165395490295492nd April – Bristol
https://www.facebook.com/events/587699463172297/
Tickets • hdfst.uk/E844316th April – Birmingham (Free Entry)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1532504509383177th April – Sheffield
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/codex-serafinideadcosmonautsdearthworms-hatch-tickets-547766212487
https://www.facebook.com/events/18388239931483898th April – Rotherham
https://www.facebook.com/events/2005429192278799th April -Leeds
https://www.facebook.com/events/477191801103721
https://www.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini-amon-acid-special-guest/boom/2556001
https://www.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini/the-smokehouse/25532151st April – Chelmsford
https://dice.fm/event/d8lxq-codex-serafini-guranfoe-1st-apr-hot-box
https://www.facebook.com/events/11165395490295492nd April – Bristol
https://www.facebook.com/events/587699463172297/
Tickets • hdfst.uk/E844316th April – Birmingham (Free Entry)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1532504509383177th April – Sheffield
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/codex-serafinideadcosmonautsdearthworms-hatch-tickets-547766212487
https://www.facebook.com/events/18388239931483898th April – Rotherham
https://www.facebook.com/events/2005429192278799th April -Leeds
https://www.facebook.com/events/477191801103721
https://www.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini-amon-acid-special-guest/boom/2556001
11th Apri – Canterbury https://www.facebook.com/events/887872902532096
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/570148
12th April – Brighton
https://www.facebook.com/events/1578106789323432 https://meltingvinyl.seetickets.com/event/codex-serafini-special-guests/the-green-door-store/2553285
14th April – St Leonards
https://www.facebook.com/events/s/codex-serafini-beau-cosmic-whi/1086187186117787/
https://dice.fm/event/lorox-codex-serafini-14th
15th April – Manchester
https://www.fatsoma.com/e/8jlzc6l0/ombudsmen-codex-serafini-slow-knife
https://www.facebook.com/events/935707280896282
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