I know Cox is a big fan of SCV 4, so I just hope there's going to be lots of whip swinging
Yeeeeah, I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that, given how he claimed to be such a big fan of SCV4 and that Lords was going to be so much like it, then it ended up more-or-less flopping in that department. (having dark and moody areas, does not a Super Castlevania 4 tribute make)
Cox says he's a big fan, but any one of us could say that about ourselves. Lords of Shadow didn't really come off like it was a labor of love for Cox and a tribute to his fondness of the game, at least to me. Symphony of the Night did, and it was because there were plenty of both throwbacks that honored the past games, whilst also having a bunch of new and original stuff to set itself apart. (Not praising IGA himself on this one, just the fact that SotN meshed well and you KNEW it was a Castlevania game) That's the issues several of us have - Lords just didn't feel Castlevania to us.
Maybe he'll get it right with Mirror and LoS2. I don't know. He hasn't instilled a lot of faith in me in terms of what he's doing for the franchise, but I'll give him another shot if it looks like he's learned and listened to fans to even just a small degree.
And if the MUSIC has changed gears to be more what we all expect a Castlevania soundtrack should sound like.