unrelated to anything recent, some more thoughts on anti-puppet theory...
I came to like it a lot more than I did initially, especially S/T. The opening melody is just so beautiful... for me it's kind of about... resignation? like, on one side, there's the fucked up stuff the song is about, and then on the other side there's the way you deal with it/what it does to you. it's kind of hard to articulate, dunno if that has anything to do with what you were going for.
I initially disliked the growls, but now I think they work well to build up contrast. Definitely couldn't have cleans, that would ruin it.
What I have the biggest problem with (that goes for the album) is that the songs tend to feel similar... and formulaic. You always have the memorable and main melody, and then the rest of the song is structured around that. well, I guess that's true for a lot of songs out there, but it just feels a little bit too blunt, maybe because of how it contrasts to the rest of the song... I can't really explain it completely, which is why I've been hesitant to say something at all, but either way I often feel like the remainder of the album are sort of weaker takes on what S/T was doing.
so yeah. oh, and I've concluded that S/T >> Blackfish > 20 bonus damage > Reboot
On another note, how serious are you with the lyrics? My initial guess was not much, but I'm less sure now seeing your new avatar...