Even thinking outside of anberlin for a second, I don’t disagree with the notion that fans wanna hear a throwback sound during a singer change. The mind-numbingly annoying part for me as an avid fan and reliable concert ticket-buyer is that the last 15 years in the scene have shown me that for bands that have made any effort to grow, both casual and avid fans frankly don’t care what material you put out anymore. A vast majority of them are just not going to listen to it very much. They’re going to listen to NTFP and Cities on repeat when they’re taking a break from post Malone and when they go to the shows they’re going to interject between songs and scream for Paperthin Hymn because it’s their first time at a concert and they don’t know set lists exist. not to denigrate first time show goers or new fans, and it’s genuinely awesome for the band that so many people seem stoked about Marty, but my point is fans just want old shit. Throwback-inspired material might hold some casuals’ attention better and push a few more impulse record buys, but at the end of the day their lasting power is coming from nostalgia sets. I mean, armor for sleep wrote a great throwback record and yet nobody knows a word of it at their shows (and I’d guess they have fewer casual fans than anberlin does). The early November still write the same kind of music and get the same response. Anberlin should’ve been one of those few bands whose fans embraced their growth live but for whatever reason they weren’t. So in the meantime ya might as well write what you genuinely want because as long as you play your 3 biggest songs live nothing else seems to matter.
Or it will be like with Three Days Grace where the original singer returned to the band while the new one still remains and both of them sing. (I really hope this doesn't happen as for me - and for a lot of people- Anberlin IS purely with Stephen)
It’s really interesting reading through the comments. I am a strange Anberlin fan. I didn’t really get into them until Vital and loved enjoyed Lowborn. (Other Side and Stranger Ways are some of my favorites) I loved Nate and Tim’s side project. I was never big fan of the older records that they are known for. That being said, I have really liked the new Matty song’s and from my entry point it feels like a fresh new direction rather than being derivative / recycling old sounds. IMO them keeping relevant is a good thing even if it isn’t everyone’s favorite. It would have been best if they did an EP with songs that had Matty and Stephen both on songs vs tacking on seven and Walk Alone From the interview’s it seems like prior to Stephen leaving it was going to be continuing to push in the directions the EPs went, but having Stephen leave and pick Matty was a surprise to the band members and they have all been pretty inspired and motivated to keep pushing forward. The alternative was breaking up again. Played through Vega last night and the Stephen songs are so cool. It’s pretty amazing that was their return as a band and that those songs exist at all.
yeah one thing i really love(d) about anberlin is i feel like they grew up with me, and moved musically to where my tastes were going. i still have a fondness for ntfp and cities, but i don't go back to them as much as lowborn and the eps.
I've come around High Stakes being a fun listen at least. I really do not like Seven though, and Walk Alone is alright but still not my thing.
Definitely interesting to be living in the times as they happen as opposed to hearing about it years after the fact - in regards to singers changing, new sounds, drama, etc
don't know about this one (primarily because i really hate this trend of every band in this scene somehow deciding to release a graphic novel)
I don’t know if it’s because I view it through the eyes of nostalgia being a teen when this band was making music originally but I could not be more “meh” with every single move they’ve made since their “break up”
Should be fun to watch the price of these on eBay over the next few years. Coheed is an obvious comparison, but as a fan of theirs and a collector of their written work, I've observed that there's one piece of their bibliography that's typically more expensive to buy after-market than the rest. Any guesses? ... It's the Year of the Black Rainbow novel. In addition to being black words on white paper instead of their previously image-rich adaptations, I think is safe to say this was a low-point in the band's music career at that point. Not too many copies sold, so no reprintings—making it limited edish. Will this sell well enough to satisfy aftermarket buyers for years to come?
When two opulent starliners set out for a distant luxury resort in the depths of space, their passengers revel in the promise of paradise. But that dream shatters in an instant. A catastrophic event obliterates Earth and the second ship, leaving one vessel—the Godspeed—and its passengers as the sole survivors of humanity. Years later, the survivors have transformed the once-exclusive resort into the foundation of a new Earth colony. Assigned roles based on their skills, passengers toil under the leadership of an elite council, rebuilding society with the promise of a better tomorrow. But not everyone is convinced. A small group of unlikely allies begins to suspect that not everything is as it seems. When a mysterious transmission raises questions about the fate of Earth, their search for answers threatens to unravel the fragile society aboard the Vital Six.
Assuming they're saying we should all buy the $200 signed version to find out who's actually in the band
what's the likelihood in this graphic novel the Stephen-equivalent character dies and the Matty-equivalent character has to take his place?
I wonder if I can find my copy of The Orphaned Anything's somewhere at my parents' house next time I'm there.