this is a contemporary rock band, if you're taking notes.
touche amore records generally take a few listens, but this one is striking me as a giant step backwards towards homogeneity. it also indicates that the band hasn't yet found a groove and is still evolving; i hope this isn't it's final resting point, because it's more or less the articulation of everything this band was better than. touche amore were the emo band that people that didn't like emo liked; i don't think much of their fan base wants them to become generic, like this. fucking gurewitz. you gotta hate the guy.
parting was an incredibly dark record and they largely built their fan base on the darkness of it. they brought in brad wood for is survived by, and he found the right middle point - i think most will agree that it's likely to end up their high point, and it's a record i really like. stage 4 is both morbid and hopeful, and saw them move towards a poppier, more commercial sound; i find the record enjoyable if not profoundly so, but it doesn't seem to have really clicked with their audience, and it didn't get them the boost they were no doubt hoping it would. now, this seems like a hard course correction - they even brought in ross robinson to maximize the cliches.
i'll give it a few more listens, but my initial reaction is disappointment. and, we'll have to see what they try next, and if it gets them what they want, or not.
my suggestion: stop calculating optimization problems and just exist. remember that?