Album subtitle in parentheses but cover art suggests otherwise

MusicBrainz
1

I’m wondering what is going on with these two albums

considering the cover art and the MB style guide the title should be formatted as:
The Singularity: Phase I - Neohumanity
The Singularity: Phase II - Xenotaph

but right now they are formatted this way:
The Singularity (Phase I – Neohumanity)
The Singularity (Phase II – Xenotaph)

is this supposed to be artist intent? the way it is listed right now is also how it is shown on various digital platforms. but then again, it doesn’t match the cover art.

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2

I think this one comes from the spine.
Then it’s correct, IMO.

But the second ablum should rather use subtitle style, according to its spine.
But maybe the editor wanted a consistent series, which I don’t agree with. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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3

for what it’s worth, the current format is how the artist entered these albums on their SoundCloud: Stream Scar Symmetry music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud

4

is there some guideline that says which part of the cover art has priority in these cases? I can only find this guideline, which I don’t think helps in this case:

considering the inconsistent title on the spine of these two releases, that are clearly connected in theme by the artist, I would rather go with the front cover.

5

going with soundcloud reveals another inconsistency.
The Singularity (Phase 1 - Neo Humanity)
The Singularity (Phase II - Xenotaph)

a sudden switch from arabic to roman numerals.

after all I would accept to see it as artist intent in the end. but the issue @jesus2099 mentioned remains. the physical release of the second album has no occurrence of the title using parentheses. to me it seems wrong to keep the current title on MB then.

1 Like