I liked the idea of the band getting back to their metal roots and doing a really musically straightforward album, but following the story of their last big concept album. But when I listened… I dunno. The production sounds really off. And there are some riffs that are spot-on awesome, but other parts that sound really stupid. I think this demonstrates that the writing of Chris DeGarmo was an important part of the band’s early success, and the production of Peter Collins was the other part. With both missing, this doesn’t have much repeat playability for me. I feel like a dick saying that, because I’ve been a fan of the band since Rage for Order, but I’ve heard demos recorded in peoples’ houses that sound better than this.