i have a soft spot for Lowborn. it's not as coherent as their other records, but loved the experimentation on that album. it's also how i met my best friend because we were both tweeting about Stranger Ways when it dropped.
I really like Lowborn too. Velvet Covered Brick, Atonement and Hearing Voices rank pretty high on my list of their best
the only song that doesn't super do it for me on lowborn is losing it all, kinda feels like they wrote that one in their sleep. but atonement and hearing voices are all-timers for me.
I love Lowborn but it definitely took some time to grow on me. The opening run of We Are Destroyer, Armageddon, and Stranger Ways is phenomenal.
The highs on Lowborn remind me so much of how great Vital is. Some of the lows on there though are pretty jarring. The EPs blow Lowborn out of the water in my opinion. I'm probably so harsh on Lowborn because it was announced as their farewell album and I wished they had made it more of a grand exit at the time.
Man I’m listening to the EPs now and they’re so damn good. I feel like I have whiplash from the drastic turn they took after these.
Seemingly disregarding the entire softer/ambient side of the band after releasing songs like Asking and Nothing More is just heartbreaking
top 5 Anberlin song for sure i'm gonna miss that sound for sure. unfortunately, if that new version of Blasé is anything to go by, i wouldn't want to hear them record another ambient/soft song so long as Matty is around.
What do you think are the chances of a ‘Cities 20th anniversary tour’ with Stephen in 2027? Something like they did now with NTFP but of course this time not with Marty. Could that point be the end of Stephen’s hiatus? If not I just can’t imagine him coming back properly.
Yeah I'm pretty sure he's set in the current state of this band. Can come and go at one-offs in and around Clearwater, FL or at fest dates. Gets to spend all of his time with his family.
Malachi is straight up the lead singer now, not temporary. They've made that clear. So anything they do moving forward should be assumed to be with him.
We'll see what the future holds! However, I'm very glass-half-empty regarding this. What was stated as a touring break has turned into something permanent, so I'm personally not getting my hopes up for Stephen reunion in the near future whatsoever.
the more time passes and the less he and the band say about his involvement, the more evident it becomes that he's probably not coming back in any official capacity. they could've stuck with their original plan of having him do studio stuff and have Matty fill in on tour, but all signs point to him severely minimizing his involvement unless absolutely necessary (i.e. MMF playing at the same time during a festival) or if they're all in the same area. if he/they wanted to reassure people about his continued involvement, they would, but they haven't, and i unfortunately don't see that changing at this point
Whether Stephen comes back or not, I do not see Matty keeping up with this for longer than 3 years or so unless they drop way down in tours