maybe it's just me, but i sort of got the feeling that onyx meant something a bit different. like, that all the gadgets and a certain plain, easy-going way to talk about band activities is rather... mundane, and at odds ends with the idea of dt as a very intellectual, eclectic and somehow mystical project. as if coming too much into the open with everyday-life-related offerings would put dark tranquillity alongside a multitude of more generic bands instead of keeping them enshrined in an isolated and vaguely elitarian place. i don't think record sales or popularity were the object of this criticism.
and on that point, if i got it right, i have to say that it's important to distinguish between factual truth and personal views. for instance, there has been no dramatic change in the way niklas refers to the band, in my opinion: since the first time i remember talking to him, he's never been one for enshrouding things in mystery or coating them with high-sounding words or attitude. it's just that, of late, there are many more ways for fans to hear the voice of bandmembers online or in interviews or in real life.
the same is true - with a few differences - when it comes to merchandising and other internet paraphernalia: times are changing towards an environment where everyone interacts more with stuff and is himself the object of more interaction. dark tranquillity are not hiding themselves, secluded in impenetrable towers (like me, in case anyone still cares about the metaphor), but do accept the shaping and twisting of reality. or that's the way i see it, i guess.
