[@Rusalka]
Yeah it was intentional. Lana spelled backwards is anal. :lol Speaking of Lana, I haven't really checked out her recent stuff. I remember loving her first album to death. It was one of the most hauntingly beautiful albums I listened to at the time. Her voice is so intoxicating. :wub

You and I share similar views about that. Record companies do tend to take control of most - if not all - artists and their creative freedom. I remember reading that it took Dream Theater a long while before they had full creative freedom. I do believe the album before their last one was them going full creative freedom and their record label is a moderately independent one, so I could only imagine how soul-sucking the mainstream ones are. As for the music itself, yeah I can agree that it has lost its soul to some extent. It's definitely not how it was in the past(I'm thinking 70s and 80s and some of the 90s). We can only hope that they will change their ways, but knowing how the music business is, that's going to be unlikely. :/

Metal, while some of the songs tend to be too satanic and graphic for my tastes(I'm talking bout Black Metal), they do have some of the best musicianship and lyrics I've seen in songs. Bands like ICed Earth, Dream Theater, Machine Head(just to name a few) have some impressive lyrics. Still to this day, my favorite Heavy Metal album is Machine Head's 2011 record, Unto the Locust. Track-to-track(including the covers), it's a fucking masterpiece. Never have I ever heard such a well-rounded album. :wub