It’s hard for any sound to continue when many can make the claim that it has already peaked in more ways than one, but it’s in the perpetuation of the style that I feel like we do a greater service to the very core ideals of it rather than to just call it quits upon the opinions of a few no matter how many that might be. In the world of death-doom metal, there really does seem to be a general consensus amongst many that we reached the peak of the sound in the 90s to around the turn of the century, but I can’t help but feel like we’re in a glorious time for the genre with those disagreeing simply not looking in the right places or hearing the right bands. What I hear I can’t help but feel like will keep the genre going for years and decades from now with bands like Sermon being the very future of what the style can and will become.
Far too easily could a band in a style as prolific and deep as death-doom find itself barely scratching the surface of what’s possible for the sound given how many different avenues there are to be explored with many opting to travel down but a few of those paths if not just one altogether. It’s those that manage to travel down more than one avenue that manages to really impress and succeed in my opinion with Sermon being but the latest name to deliver such excellence with their debut an interesting creation that had a lot more to offer than I might have initially expected. A dense creation that touches on a vast swathe of what has always made the sound compelling since its inception, “Till Birth Do Us Part” is by no means a gloomy creation on the surface with its ripping solos and massive presence that rarely pulls back except for maximum effect, but it is at damn near every turn that Sermon makes sure to enforce a power that is nigh on compelling with the evocative soul of album always having something to add. Sermon always accomplishes the feat of keeping the listener firmly rooted in place as the very whole of this performance is a true spectacle right from the beginning with the instrumentation already something to behold as this is a debut that puts its absolute best foot forward to deliver a tasteful slab of death-doom that doesn’t just seek to bring some mild, dreary heaviness, but, rather, an authentic delivery of the genre that gives “Till Birth Do Us Part” an incredibly strong foundation for Sermon to build their legacy upon.
Debuts like this are more than worthy of an eyebrow raise even as one can make the fair claim that there is plenty of room for improvement. Sermon does an impeccable job at bringing death-doom glory to the table as “Till Birth Do Us Part” seeks to bring magnificence in every category should it be given the opportunity, and it would be an outright lie to claim that anything less than that has been achieved in a fascinating fashion.
“Till Birth Do Us Part” releases on February 13th!
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