The Fiddler
Just Do It.
I suspect that the growl haters are just silently disappointed. There are a lot of usually very active posters that have had nothing to say in this thread.
I don't know why growly-haters would be disappointed this year or any other as long as Glenn sticks to his marketing plan...
Yes, the standard progressive & power metal bands are my bread & butter. However, if you don't step outside the box just a bit & build some diversity, you will begin to stagnate. I cannot count on the same fans to attend over & over because they want to see the same bands or styles again & again. New fans are the lifeblood of this festival and taking chances will bring them in, hopefully to stay once they experience things. Now will I head down the death/doom/black/whatever road? Of course not. Prog & Power will always dominate, some years more than others. However, I cannot say that I may not dip my toes into the darker water whenever I feel it is appropriate and helpful with the roster.
None of the bands on the PP9 roster will be performing a 100% straight-up "death/doom/black" set (and no band ever has performed a 100% straight-up "death/doom/black" set at PP). Only one band this year (Amorphis) may chose to growl extensively. Nevermind that only one of the three songs Glenn chose to introduce Amorphis with in this thread contains some growling, and little at that - probably because their vocalist has a sweet-sounding, impressive mid-to-low melodic singing voice that the band is choosing to showcase more at this time).
None of the other bands this year utilize growls to any significant extent, if at all. I'm not a fan extensive growling, but when only 1 of 12 bands (8.3%) on the roster may end up using that style extensively (but not exclusively), there are going to be few with reason to be upset with this year's roster based on vocal style (that is, unless they wanted to hear a lot of the growlies this year, in which case they won't).
NP: Spheric Universe Experience - "So Cold"