Judging by the three songs i already heard, i think it'll be a great record.

An early reviewer (can't remember who) said that Happy Song is the heaviest song on the album.

That's not a good sign.

EDIT: I'm actually kind of digging this. So far I like the atmosphere set up, at its best it's darker than Sempiternal like they said it would be. It's going to get panned on here and that's okay, this is Metal Storm, not "Generic radio pop-rock" Storm. This isn't even a particularly great album either, it's a huge step down from Sempiternal. It's just not as horrendous as I thought it would be. Of course, I fit the target audience perfectly, so I may be a bit biased. It's still the wrong path for the band, though. They're better than this.

EDIT 2: More listens in, the novelty wears off. It might as well just be Oli and Jordan, the other band members are invisible. There's no real sense of urgency or emotion. If the album kept in the path of the first three songs then it would be a good continuation of Sempiternal, but the album quickly enters pop territory. Sempiternal had aggression, emotion, maturity (at least compared to the other bands in the genre) and knew exactly what it wanted to do. Most of the songs had an epic vibe with background keyboards and choirs amplifying Oli's voice to sound like a preacher in a stadium. Even if you hate the band, album, or the entire genre, it's one of the most interesting mainstream metalcore/post-hardcore albums in quite a while. That's The Spirit has none of that. It's just... radio pop-rock with some nu-metal and post-hardcore influences. That's it. Like, at least the music is listenable, it's just way overshadowed by everything else that came out this year.

(about my original comment: Happy Song definitely is the heaviest, to the point where it sticks out too much.)

EDIT 3: I actually really like the first three songs, and Run and Blasphemy aren't bad either. It feels that if they trimmed the pop fat off of the album it would be better. It could be this moody pop-rock that really is "darker than Sempiternal", light enough to be played on the radio but still with a distinctive BMTH flair for the fans. Less utter shit like True Friends and Oh No please. Doomed is still the best song.

But judging by the band's image and overall attitude, they are selling out more than ever and not even hiding it. The album reeks of that lack of inspiration as well. Yes, they were a band making tons of money appealing to scene kids and teenage girls. Yes, it's possible for a band like that to sell out. No, I didn't even know that was possible until now.

I loved sempiternal, but this is just not really my taste. too bad!

This doesn't sound like the BMTH I didn't like at all, instead it kinda sounds like a BMTH I think I can like. They managed to write a really catchy, pop-rockish, easily digestible album that sounds actually heavy at times and really good. Sempiternal was definitely a precursor of their new sound. I really liked the effects they used in Run. Linkin Park copy or not, emo or not, radio friendly or not, to me it sounds good. It was a brave move from the band in the right direction. I've never played the metal elitist against these kind of bands, so I'm gonna give them a chance with this album.

The first 3 tracks are good but the rest is not.

Am really enjoying this album...something different for them. I like their old stuff...and hey, I like their new stuff!

Pretty sure metalcore should be replaced with nu metal or something like that.

Aw... I really like this sound. Their old stuff, before the keyboardist came in, are not my taste. So no wonder old fans don't like this.

I dig this album for the most part. The Linkin Park vibes all over 'Throne' are a blast.