First Utterance
by Comus

Overall rank: 1,117th | 1970s rank: 226th | 1971 rank: 32nd
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).(Last updated: 5 hours ago)

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Year	Source	Chart	Rank	Rank Score
2026	Purplepash	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	76/100	5
2026	Jimmy Dread	Folk Off! Pastoral Perfection for Pixie People	41/100	-
2026	SquishypuffDave	Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	16/100	85
2026	Hayden	Top 100 Music Albums of 1971	58/100	2
2026	juanr1096	Top 52 Music Albums of 1971	13/52	4
2026	Steppenwolf666	Pt7 Most expensive records sold on Discogs website	85/100	-
2026	Charade	Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	57/100	41
2026	RockyRaccoon	Early Psychedelic Rock	95/100	-
2026	Rhyner	Top 37 Music Albums of 1971	13/37	3
2026	Robert Anton Wilson	Top 36 Music Albums of 1971	35/36	0
		Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in.		217
		Total Rank Score: The total rank score.		1,566

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First Utterance collection

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First Utterance ratings

Average Rating:

79/100 (from 204 votes)

Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 204 ratings for this album.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Album ratings	Avg. album rating
90/100 !	06/15/2026 01:14	AvalancheGrips	784	85/100
75/100 !	04/25/2026 23:41	Robert Anton Wil	1,149	84/100
85/100 !	03/19/2026 02:10	videoheadcleaner	12,359	85/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.5/100, a mean average of 78.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.0.

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First Utterance favourites

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First Utterance forum mentions

This album has been referenced 42 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.

From

BestEverAlbums 08/17/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5407): By Charade

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Charade () 1. by (1980) 2. by (2005) 4. (1977) 5. (1981) 6. by by (1972) 8. by (2000) 9. by (2024) 10. by (1962) 11. by (1975) 12. by (2003) 13. by (1976) 14. (1999) 15. by (2016) 16. (1974) 17. by (1997) 18. by (1973) 19. by (1968) 20. by…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 07/04/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5363): By Lowkey

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by by (2023) 3. by by (2011) 5. (2019) 6. by (1973) 7. by (2020) 9. by (1986) 10. by (1969) 11. by by (2007) 13. (2005) 14. by by (2004) 16. by (2011) 17. by (2011) 18. by (2022) 19. (2016) 20. by (1999) 21. (1970) 23. by (1994) 25. by…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 08/08/2022 20:00 in Album of the day (#4250): First Utterance by Comus

“Today's album of the day First Utterance by Comus ( | ) Year: 1971. Country: Overall rank: 1,151 Average rating: 80/100 (from 177 votes). Tracks: 1. Diana 2. The Herald 3. Drip Drip 4. Song To Comus 5. The Bite 6. Bitten 7. The Prisoner About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the…”

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First Utterance comments

Rating:

95/100

From zonrod 12/30/2011 09:21 | #33996 | TOP COMMENT

This album could be described as folk. But the folk in it isn't the relaxed gentile songs that most people would associate with the genre. It has a pagan feel to it. It feels like it should be played in a dark ancient woodland around a fire by a band all more animal then human. The whole album is like a pulsing living organic monstrosity. It is tribal in feeling, with a blend of flute, violin, hand drums, acoustic guitars, female and male vocals and mix of other instruments. (Edited)

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Rating:

100/100

From

SquishypuffDave TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/15/2012 06:11 | #55048 | TOP COMMENT

Folk music possessed with the evil spirit of metal and with the demented ambition of prog, running through the misty forest with blood dripping down its face.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

From Goodsir 02/24/2014 23:47 | #104354 | TOP COMMENT

I don't even know what to say about this masterpiece, honestly. It's so strange that it sounds satanic, demented, and evil. It's got elements of progressive rock and folk mixed together with some elements of metal as well. It's really just stunning. Everything from the high-pitched voices to the viola that doesn't fit make this record so dark yet perfect. It's like running through a peaceful, calm field in pain and agony.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2

Rating:

100/100

From NecroBadger 06/22/2015 12:48 | #144369 | TOP COMMENT

When people ask me what the darkest album I've heard is, this is the one that jumps to answer. Listening to this album is like stumbling through some neglected ancient woodlands to come across an evil and archaic pagan ritual. The lead singer sounds demented, the instrumentation and arrangements angular and jarring, made all the creepier by the innocent female vocals. Truly unique - investigate if you're feeling brave.

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From Xavygravy 01/05/2013 13:45 | #60183 | TOP COMMENT

"First Utterance" is the first Comus album I've listened to, and among the first album of its genre - another being The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by The Incredible String Band. However, whereas the songs from that album were lighthearted and quirky, this album delves into serious themes of violence and abuse toward a vulnerable innocent. Both within the songs, and throughout the album, there is an intertwined story that can be followed along, matched with sporadic shifts in musicality within a single song (I guess, this is what I should expect from the progressive genre). This is an odd, and captivating, album.
My two favourites are "The Herald" and "The Bite".

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1

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