User Submitted Album

First Utterance

Comus

1971

2.87

Rating

Votes

Distribution

Rock Folk

Album Summary

First Utterance is the debut album of the progressive folk band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single. First Utterance was notable for its unique blend of progressive rock, folk, psychedelia, and elements of paganism and the macabre. The overall thematic tone of the album is of vulnerable innocence facing abusive power, with songs dealing with such themes as necrophilia ("Drip Drip"), rape ("Diana", "Song to Comus") and shock therapy ("The Prisoner"). The record features an acoustic sound, including acoustic guitar, violin, flute, and lyrical, almost Arcadian, female harmonies. References to Comus by other bands and artists include Opeth, citing its lyrics in album and song titles and tattoos. Experimental outfit Current 93 also covered "Diana" as the opening song on their 1997 LP Horsey.

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Reviews

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Oct 15 2025 Author

What an excellent pick 😌 This is one of my personal favourite records. There isn’t really another band that sounds like them, except for bands that heard this record and wanted to do the same thing. Some of my fellow reviewers have complained about it being demented or disgusting, but that’s exactly the appeal! And right when we’ve been introduced to the ugly world of ”Diana”, we’re faced with the spellbinding ”The Herald”. This isn’t an album you can reduce to a simple statement, rather it is one you can get lost in for years

Oct 04 2025 Author

OK, so I'll state up front that this, on the first blush, seems like some bullshit gnomes and goblins prog tosh. It does, thankfully, have some genuinely interesting music in it.

Nov 01 2025 Author

There was a hole in my 1970s rock/folk knowledge and that was Comus. First Utterance is maybe not one of the best albums I ever heard, but it is an experience never to forget. I cannot remember an album that intrigued me this much in years. It is full of organic, black and disrupting folk songs that sound like desperate cries from the depths of a deep abyss. Progressive folk from 1971 that is so dirty that Lankum sounds like a bunch of choir kids.

Sep 28 2025 Author

Engagingly wierd and ahead of its time, but also uneven overall and frequently crossing the line into pretty demented territory. I can see this working very well as the soundtrack to some Wickerman-esque British pastoral horror film. As an album to sit and listen to for musical enjoyment... I don't regret the time spent with it, but doubt I'll be seeking out more.

Oct 26 2025 Author

Made me feel like I was on some pagan ritual with some songs. Very weird at times, but enjoyable none the less

Oct 12 2025 Author

Fascinating album - perfect feel for the Halloween season!

Oct 15 2025 Author

I've come across this one before- it's uncomfortable in places but iconic. Hard to believe it was two art students. Mesmeric and inviting. It's like a singular glistening gem, never repeated.

Nov 11 2025 Author

I will repeat this until I die: Fucky goblin music is the greatest music genre of all time and we desperately need more stuff like this. One of the best albums of all time. Literally not even a single second on this album that I'd cut or change in any way. If anything, the fact that "Drip, Drip" doesn't last an hour and a half is this album's biggest sin.

Nov 13 2025 Author

new favorite album just dropped?! (5 years before my dad was born) I’ve always been a diehard fan of freak folk, and this truly does EVERYTHING perfectly; a flawless album that sounds WAY too modern for its time I listened to this on loop about three times in a row lol, way too fuckin good to rate

Oct 07 2025 Author

Worked for me, but mainly as background music whilst doing other things. But the building intensity and random paths it was taking made me enjoy. 3.9

Oct 29 2025 Author

A surprising amount of depth to the lyrics. A decent "story album". Can't imagine grabbing for this at all though.

Nov 10 2025 Author

Cool that Opeth got an album title from this

Sep 23 2025 Author

Psychedelic folk, progressive folk. Ni fu ni fa.

Sep 24 2025 Author

This is interesting for sure. Dark and sort of disturbing. Not sure I would listen again, but glad I heard it at least once. 3 stars.

Sep 24 2025 Author

Could’ve come out yesterday and it wouldn’t surprise me

Oct 05 2025 Author

Prog folk/psychadelic folk from the 70s. It's like they took folk music of the Pentangle/Fairport Convention style and crossed it with King Crimson. And then took it to a very dark place. Favorite songs: The Prisoner, Diana, Drip Drip, Song to Comus Least favorite songs: Bitten 3/5

Oct 13 2025 Author

Interesting listen.

Oct 14 2025 Author

October 15, 2025 As one of the psychos who gave the Incredible String Band 5 stars, I assumed I would greatly appreciate this other strange folk album. And I appreciate it, but I don't love it at this time. The vocals are especially off-putting, especially in the opener "Diana", albeit appropriate for a spooky October night. The lyrics are also creepy, but not always in a good way. Based on the fact I listened to this on the 15th, then the 16th, and am writing this on the 17th possibly means I'm still processing this album. The flute-laden instrumentals are often transcendent.

Oct 15 2025 Author

Pretty good. Prog folk is interesting.

Oct 20 2025 Author

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Diana

Oct 26 2025 Author

I like the instrumentation a lot but the lyrics are kind of gross and unpleasant!

Oct 26 2025 Author

Prog folk is what the worst folks at the renaissance fair are listening to on their way home and that’s nice for them. I’m not sure I personally need 1hr 11 minutes of it

Oct 28 2025 Author

I found Mikael Åkerfeldt's account.

Oct 30 2025 Author

Especie de folk-rock con canciones melódicas e instrumentales. Evocadoras de sueños. Algo diferente de escuchar, aunque no engancha del todo

Nov 06 2025 Author

Everything has its fans, am I right? Listen to this, I enjoyed the vibe, and I only thought how crazy the 70s were to build material for this kind of progressive folk stuff.

Nov 29 2025 Author

Split some of these longer songs in two. They don’t sound like they go together. There was an obsession with making long songs in this genre at this time. It didn’t need to happen. Was there a point to it? Why make the songs long just to make them long? I need serious help. Please help me. Am I worth saving? Are any of us? Why do we keep going? I liked this album a little. Just a little boring, nothing much going on. Respect the vision, though. 3/5

Sep 26 2025 Author

Sorry this just isn’t my cup of tea.

Oct 01 2025 Author

Didn't strike me very much. At this point I have heard other similar folkish off center stuff. Maybe this came before?

Oct 08 2025 Author

Oh spare me. I'm on the 4th song and want to throw myself off a bridge. It gets more than 1 because the guitars are actually very cool in places. But the overall thing is just disgusting tbh. 2/5.

Oct 11 2025 Author

Lengthy folk LP that doesn't go anywhere or say much of anything – purely a matter of taste, just never understand the journeys that the albums in this genre go on.

Oct 11 2025 Author

Not one for me. What I am sure is a relaxing and soothing album for some was a cheese grater on styrofoam for me.