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Written by Cavernous on 28.10.2015 at 17:59
There's no possible "thoughtful" explanation to argument that a mediocre album is better than an extraordinary one. Relativism has its limits. Leaving personal factors behind, which obviously contribute to one's appreciation of a determinate album, TGW is, strictly artistically speaking, immensely better than STEA. It's more cohesive, more mature, better musically and lyrically and lacks some of the plainly bad sections that plague the other album.
I don't prefer Spirit The Earth Aflame to The Gathering Wilderness, but I'm sure there's someone out there who does and who can give a thoughtful review of why he/she likes it.
As for your arguments:
More mature: doesn't necessarily make something good or bad
better musically: subjective
better lyrically: subjective
lacks bad sections: subjective
more cohesive: slightly less subjective
And "strictly artistically speaking, [it's] immensely better" has basically the same meaning as "it's better." So again, subjective.
The Gathering Wilderness is one of my top 10, if not top 5 albums of all time, across all genres, but what you're saying is just nonsense.