Interesting approach, though I tend to disagree with you on the comparison of a guitar with the human voice. Of course you could say both are instruments, but personally I think a voice says a lot more about a person than the equipment he's working with (a guitar, for example).
I see what you say about contrast, it works very well e.g. in Arena's Mea Culpa, where the moment when Rob comes in with his REAL voice is one of the most stunning moments. On the other hand: the effected vocals in that track are not half as emotional as the second part. My point was: this kind of a change doesn't happen in BLM, so the contrast is lacking...
For some reason, with these treated vocals (and I don't mean just bits for effects, but when it's all the way) I always think 'well, (s)he probably can't sing'. This happens a lot with the modern top of the pops material, but it was done with Madonna in the 80's as well.
Maybe it's a matter of taste, but I tend to find real voices more personal than effected ones. They touch me more. Especially in John's case, for example in the end of Losers Day Parade or in Picture...
Anyhow: it was my only minor comment on the track I heared, because I liked it very much overall.
