Review: Sermon – Of Golden Verse

Style: Progressive Metal, Alt Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Soen, Tool, Katatonia, Wheel
Review by: Christopher
Country: UK
Release date: 31 March, 2023

Anonymity in music is an unusual phenomenon. After all, musician is surely one of the most visible vocations available, and mainstream artists usually leverage their fame to their own benefit. There’s little chance that a mega-selling pop artist’s identity could remain totally unknown—the best you can manage is probably something akin to Sia’s obscured visage. However, many bands in the rock and metal sphere have managed to negotiate the anonymous fame paradox in spite of large followings: Ghost go by stage names and conceal themselves beneath costume and makeup, while the bemasked Sleep Token, led by a man known only as Vessel, don’t even talk on stage and claim to worship a god called Sleep, or something. 

Unto the affiliation of anonymous metal vocalists, Sermon bring us the masked vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist known only as ‘Him’ (as a result, this review will be something of a grammatical nightmare). Joined by drummer James Stewart of Vader (as you can probably tell, Stewart’s not too worried about his identity). Their 2019 debut Birth of the Marvellous was released to widespread praise within underground spheres, with a sound redolent of Tool or Soen but with something more primal driving it forward.

On Of Golden Verse, Sermon have doubled down on that relentless, tribalism-inflected forcefulness. Much of this is down to Him’s chanting intonation, like some sort of messianic figure delivering a sermon on the mount (indeed, calling themselves Sermon seems like a knowing bit of nominative determinism), and Stewart’s utter savagery on the drums. Indeed, as much as Him is the central figure, Stewart may be the key to Sermon’s success. The chorus of “Light the Witch” has such a bouncy spirit in the hi-hat as to be almost danceable, while on “Departure” Stewart’s drumming escalates to blast beat intensities. His (not Him’s confusingly enough) proficiency truly is something to behold, one imagines every component of the kit awaits terrified in anticipation of its battering, which will come sooner rather than later. 

Nevertheless, Sermon wouldn’t be what they are without Him (the masked singer), whose vocals have somehow gotten even stronger, from Soen-esque croons, to an angrier rasp, and even occasional harshes. Being a vocal and drum-focused group, Him’s guitar work isn’t flashy, but it serves the compositions perfectly, utilising thick chords, ominous tremolo, and catchy lead licks. 

I’m less of a fan when Sermon slow things down, and while I accept the need for a slower track, “Senescence” has a doomier quality that becomes a little trudging. Its ambient bridge is rather moving and the outro is worth it, but it nevertheless lacks the dynamism that comes with heavier tracks such as “Wake the Silent” which sees Him let loose with backing harshes and enraged shouts over Stewart’s unrelenting percussion and jagged chords augmenting a blistering main riff that verges on Gojira territory.  

Sermon have crafted a dynamic, catchy and brilliantly made sophomore album that capitalises on the obvious potential in their debut, but what I want readers to bear in mind is that, of the Subway’s reviewers, I’m one of the more conservative Sermon fans—my esteemed colleagues, Andy, Sam and Zach were even more impressed than I am. Of Golden Verse is undoubtedly among the year’s best underground offerings thus far, and Sermon are clearly one of the more exciting up-and-coming acts of the last few years. I suspect Of Golden Verse will be hitting a lot of Album of the Year lists: here’s your wake up call to get in on the hype early. 

Recommended tracks: Wake the Silent, Light the Witch, Departure
You may also like: Inhalo, Athemon
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Prosthetic Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Sermon is:
– Him (vocals, guitars, keyboards)
– James Stewart (drums)
– Lawrence Jenner (bass)