Written by SikorskiWitness on 06.06.2020 at 13:51

Previous album was a let-down. They went far too commercial, mellow, ballad style, dropped progression in favor of a safe, commercial sound. It wasn't a disaster of any sort, but an obvious drop in quality. I hope they will correct this on the new records, although this new track doesn't really give high hopes. The vocalist is good, but her voice alone cannot pull songs out of mediocrity. There is just so much a good vocalist can do to turn boring tunes into catchy ones.

Written by Liafev on 06.06.2020 at 18:26

Written by SikorskiWitness on 06.06.2020 at 13:51

Previous album was a let-down. They went far too commercial, mellow, ballad style, dropped progression in favor of a safe, commercial sound. It wasn't a disaster of any sort, but an obvious drop in quality. I hope they will correct this on the new records, although this new track doesn't really give high hopes. The vocalist is good, but her voice alone cannot pull songs out of mediocrity. There is just so much a good vocalist can do to turn boring tunes into catchy ones.

Your comment is a good exemple of using "commercial" in a meaningless, arrogant way.

Written by SikorskiWitness on 07.06.2020 at 00:10


Guess I struck a fanboy chord there. I have no qualms when music turns more commercial if the overall quality does not diminish. It just so happens that in 99% of the cases, it does. It simply happens that they've raised the bar with Winter, only to lower it significantly with The Banished Heart. There is nothing meaningless in describing things for what they are.

Written by Liafev on 07.06.2020 at 19:37

Written by SikorskiWitness on 07.06.2020 at 00:10


Guess I struck a fanboy chord there. I have no qualms when music turns more commercial if the overall quality does not diminish. It just so happens that in 99% of the cases, it does. It simply happens that they've raised the bar with Winter, only to lower it significantly with The Banished Heart. There is nothing meaningless in describing things for what they are.

Wrong guess, I barely know them. I saw them live with Swallow the Sun once and listened to the last album one, but that's it. It just seems to me that using "commercial" to describe something has so little meaning that it's just painful to read.
Plus I don't really see what you found commercial in their last album to be honest.

Written by SikorskiWitness on 08.06.2020 at 12:15

Written by Liafev on 07.06.2020 at 19:37

Written by SikorskiWitness on 07.06.2020 at 00:10


Guess I struck a fanboy chord there. I have no qualms when music turns more commercial if the overall quality does not diminish. It just so happens that in 99% of the cases, it does. It simply happens that they've raised the bar with Winter, only to lower it significantly with The Banished Heart. There is nothing meaningless in describing things for what they are.

Wrong guess, I barely know them. I saw them live with Swallow the Sun once and listened to the last album one, but that's it. It just seems to me that using "commercial" to describe something has so little meaning that it's just painful to read.
Plus I don't really see what you found commercial in their last album to be honest.

How would you call a transgression from progressive, quasi-innovative, adventurous progressive metal to a ballad-laden, toned-down metal made for yuppies? If not a commercial move? For people who listen to music rationally, not blindly, the move to a commercial sound a style is self-evident.

Which is to say I am not against going for a more commercial sound, if musical quality is not undermined. I do accept some 'sell-outs' or some sound mellowing if the quality standard is still there. It just so happens that in most cases, mellowing out turns out to be a drop in quality as well and OoS is not an exception. Not everyone is Devin Townsend, who can keep a similar standard of quality while playing extreme metal and pop metal.