See, to me, they're not watering anything down, they're going for a different asthetic. The lyrics are a little less "hokey" and a little more sober; the production isn't as polished and is much more raw... there's a visceral feel to the entire album.

Maybe it's just me, but I've never considered CoB "groundbreaking"-- just really goddamn good at what they do. So to me, this album is no different... they're just branching out a bit; expressing something a little different and I'm honestly enjoying the Hell out of it.

But you also have to consider that I come from a background of having played in a band where some of the songs were "supposed" to be really tight and really solid while others were "supposed" to be rushed to the point of a manic frenzy.