punctuation - Is a comma always needed before 'although' – or is it just a matter of style?


I know it technically isn't correct, but to me it just looks awkward without it. For example (just reading through a friend's gig review):



The videos were surprisingly hard hitting, although equally I don’t think Muse will ever get to the Rage Against The Machine level of political activism.



I think this could be substituted for 'but', which is why I think it works best with a comma.


However, the phrase 'even though' sounds better without one:



It was incredibly heartwarming to witness even though I wasn’t able to see him myself.



What are some opinions?


I'm bad with commas (a serial abuser of them), and I'm only really starting to learn English punctuation properly!




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