SERMON Release Second Studio Album ‘Of Golden Verse’
March 31st, 2023
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London, England-based melodic doom metal band Sermon issued second full-length studio album Of Golden Verse on March 31st, 2023 through Prosthetic Records.
“This is something I’ve always done. I’m always making music,” Him commented, principle member of Sermon. “But this one is a bit angrier, and that’s because I felt angrier. The first one was sad because I felt that way, and it’s really as simple as that. This time I upped the aggression, without really meaning to. When you put James (Stewart, drums) on the kit, that becomes quite easy! Hopefully in an unpretentious way, it’s more riffy and more guitar-orientated. It’s a lot more technical on the drums. Maybe it’s a bit more primal. The first album had a lot of soundscapes and finger-picking. This is blunt force a lot of the time. That’s just how I felt.”
The album can be streamed in its entirety below.
Of Golden Verse was recorded at Grindstone Studios under the supervision of producer, engineer, mixer and masterer Scott Atkins. Of Golden Verse was entirely written by Him, but Him accredits James Stewart with performing a particularly vital role.
“James is the other side of this,” Him acknowledged. “I’ll give him the demo of a whole album and the drums will be written, and he likes me to do that, but when we get in the studio, he makes his suggestions and it often becomes this whole other thing. It wouldn’t sound remotely the same with another drummer. Meanwhile, Scott is the George Martin of the piece. So really Sermon is a trio. I give them something that’s fairly well formed, it’s almost there, and they add into it because they’re far more skilled than I am.”
In lyrical terms, Of Golden Verse, “broadly speaking is just about abuses of power,” Him said. “Whatever that might be. It could be as big as war, or it could be a more individual thing, like suicide. They’re just things I’ve noted down and turned into an analogy. That is the overarching theme, but it’s not a story. It’s lots of little stories, hidden in analogies. If I was too literal, I’d probably upset people!”
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The track listing is as follows:
01. ‘The Great Marsh’
02. ‘Royal’
03. ‘Light The Witch’
04. ‘In Black’
05. ‘The Distance’
06. ‘Senescence’
07. ‘Wake The Silent’
08. ‘Golden’
09. ‘Centre’
10. ‘Departure’
Sermon’s line-up is as follows:
Him (vocals, guitars, keyboards and tongue drum)
Lawrence Jenner (bass)
James Stewart (drums and percussion
Official visualiser videos were created for the tracks ‘Golden’, ‘The Distance’, ‘Departure’ and ‘Light The Witch’. All four clips can be viewed below.
Debut studio record Birth Of The Marvellous was released in March 2019 via Prosthetic Records.
