The thing that strikes me most about the album is the shift towards a more R&B sound, and it is more evident than ever before. They hinted at it on the last album in a few songs, but on this album, nearly every song has that thread running through it. There are plenty of heavy moments on the album, but let me make a distinction...it’s not that the album “is not Metal enough for me,” as I am no gatekeeper, but it’s rather than the album is too close to other genres that I just don’t listen to. Metal? Yes. Rock? Yes. Pop? Bring it on. Rap? No thank you. R&B? No. It’s hard to say if the signing to a major label brought about the change to a larger audience, or whether this was just a natural progression of the band. It looks like two more years of waiting .
