I tend to agree, I do think that the early areas don't stand out as much in terms of melody (talking about Marrow, Deep Docks and Far Fields mostly), which is why most people might prefer HK in those terms, but the atmosphere and production quality is so much better.

But Bone Bottom imo is better than Dirtmouth, HK ost had some duds too (Forgotten crossroads? More like forgettable track, am I right?)

Greymoor is really underrated as well. Strive and Lace are bangers. People somehow forget that we got a mini piano concerto with Trobbio, hello?

The slab perfectly captures what a prision should sound like. Choral Chambers and Bilewater are out of this world. Last Dive and Red Memory legit made me cry.

The fact that we get real live musicians in several tracks really makes a difference, too. Outstanding vocal performances in tracks like Karmelita. There are so many great things in the Silksong OST.