Very much looking forward to this!

Oh this sounds sweet

I think this might be a 10. Is it a 10? 10 tracks...10 rating? I'm not sure, but I'm super close to deciding it is. What a magnificent album...veritable epicness.

Edit: the track titles add up to 110 characters which is an average of 11 characters per song. So it's an 11/10 but MS only allows 10/10. Something to mull over...

Straight fuckin’ fire on this album!

This is a phenomenal release, the songwriting and musicianship is incredible, it's dark, melancholic and mysterious, and the drumming is hypnotizing.

Why is this not on the AOTY chart? It's got over 20 votes and 8.6

Written by Ruisdier on 31.03.2023 at 23:36

Why is this not on the AOTY chart? It's got over 20 votes and 8.6

Because the band is invisible, lack of lineup I believe.

Edit: not anymore.

AOTY lets goooooooo! About to give this another spin, mind blown the whole way through

Also what the fuck is VH1 metal

Sounds super dope. I'm on me 2nd spin and looking for their previous albums.
I wouldn't know exactly how to classify this, but I think Progressive metal is much more fitting than Intellectual metal
Unless it's some kind of April fools "joke" in which case 😫

Written by dammage11 on 01.04.2023 at 00:25

Also what the fuck is VH1 metal

This is music that would sound really good on MTV. If you think of other bands that would fit that description, you should probably message the staff with each band individually.

Written by Ruisdier on 31.03.2023 at 23:36

Why is this not on the AOTY chart? It's got over 20 votes and 8.6

Agreed. Isn't it time for invisible bands to be able to get into the Top 20 of [year] lists too? This album definitely deserves the top spot it would have at this moment on the 2023 list.

I do not understand the hype here, just finished listening to it, first listen, I'm not feeling it. Needs more listens to sink in properly.

Lots of fuss surrounding this one. Will check it out in the next day

Written by JoHn Doe on 04.04.2023 at 10:58

I do not understand the hype here, just finished listening to it, first listen, I'm not feeling it. Needs more listens to sink in properly.

It's the same for me. Good album, but nothing more...

I usually enjoy getting onboard with the hype, but this time I'm gonna have to just give it an 'ok'. Usually the alternative/progressive metal tag is a warning for me to stay away, but this time it's pretty good. Atmospheric touch is great, and there are a few really good moments in the first couple of tracks. Of course it doesn't come anywhere near a 9 or 10 for me, but I'd put it above a lot of the other releases of this year, especially some of the hyped ones.

The amount of times I listened to this album...I'm obsessed..I need a doctor..
Sorry Enslaved, you're number two now.

Too much hype again, good production, nice drumming but come on guys...AOTY this?

Rating stuff on the internet has become plain irrelevant nowadays. What's the point of a scale 1-10 if all we like gets a 9-10.

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:09

What's the point of a scale 1-10 if all we like gets a 9-10.

Not always true, I for one rate the albums I like from 7 upward. So 7 is a good rating. I rarely rate 10s.

Written by JoHn Doe on 07.04.2023 at 13:14

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:09

What's the point of a scale 1-10 if all we like gets a 9-10.

Not always true, I for one rate the albums I like from 7 upward. So 7 is a good rating. I rarely rate 10s.

Same here, but unfortunately the majority does otherwise (and not just on MS).

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:19

Same here, but unfortunately the majority does otherwise (and not just on MS).

I wouldn't generalize though, there are more people rating properly than users rating abusively.

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:09

Too much hype again, good production, nice drumming but come on guys...AOTY this?

You gave 9 to Ultra Beatdown by Dragonforce..

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:09

Too much hype again, good production, nice drumming but come on guys...AOTY this?

Rating stuff on the internet has become plain irrelevant nowadays. What's the point of a scale 1-10 if all we like gets a 9-10.

I had a quick look through the votes of those commenting in this thread that scored this new Sermon album a 9, and all of them have only given 9 to a small fraction of the records they've voted on in 2023; just because we think it's one of the standout releases so far in 2023 doesn't mean we're pissing about with the voting system.

It's absolutely fine not to enjoy this record, but conflating a disconnect between your experience with a record and that of several others' and then writing off the latter's ratings as misguided isn't really justified. It's just a difference of opinion on an album, but writing off people's high ratings of an album you dislike just opens the door for your own high ratings to be questioned; I'm guessing you've got a strong connection to the band Enthroned given the number of 10 ratings you've given to their records, and might not like someone writing off those scores as irrelevant because they sizeably differ from the average scores each album has.

Written by musclassia on 07.04.2023 at 14:20

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:09

Too much hype again, good production, nice drumming but come on guys...AOTY this?

It's absolutely fine not to enjoy this record, but conflating a disconnect between your experience with a record and that of several others' and then writing off the latter's ratings as misguided isn't really justified. It's just a difference of opinion on an album, but writing off people's high ratings of an album you dislike just opens the door for your own high ratings to be questioned

You did like my comment though(before you unliked it).

Written by Archie 666 on 07.04.2023 at 13:53

Written by Nightmare^ on 07.04.2023 at 13:09

Too much hype again, good production, nice drumming but come on guys...AOTY this?

You gave 9 to Ultra Beatdown by Dragonforce..

yeah that's more than a decade ago. I'm trying to correct all these crap actually if i come across it

In my humble opinion, if there is one album that deserves a 9 so far this year, it is Of Golden Verse. After more than a dozen listens, I realised that one of the reasons I like this album so much is that, although the songwriting is often more akin to extreme prog, the vocals are clean, versatile, and simply superb. There are so many parts that 9 out of 10 bands would use harsh vocals for, but Sermon did not (thank HIM). Generally, the performances are just outstanding, and I cannot believe how awesome the drumming is. The debut was good, but this just knocked the ball out of the park.

Written by Archie 666 on 07.04.2023 at 12:42

The amount of times I listened to this album...I'm obsessed..I need a doctor..

Same here.

Written by JoHn Doe on 04.04.2023 at 10:58

I do not understand the hype here, just finished listening to it, first listen, I'm not feeling it. Needs more listens to sink in properly.

I think it needs more listens.

Written by nikarg on 07.04.2023 at 19:47

I think it needs more listens.

I'll try and give it a listen in the next few days. I'll get back to it afterwards.

Written by nikarg on 07.04.2023 at 19:47

I realised that one of the reasons I like this album so much is that, although the songwriting is often more akin to extreme prog, the vocals are clean, versatile, and simply superb. There are so many parts that 9 out of 10 bands would use harsh vocals for, but Sermon did not

This is something that I am always actively looking for and a huge reason for why I like this band. So few bands make extreme metal topped with clean vocals. It's why I miss Nevermore, for example. That said, the vocals do bug me a tad at times on this album, but not nearly enough for me not to enjoy it.

Second listen...
I don't know why I'm struggling with this, it's not a difficult album or challenging music.

I also have my problems getting the vibe of it