I'll be honest here, there isn't a whole lot to say about this album, for better or worse.
It's definitely listenable and solid and technically proficient, but compared to the towering monoliths of achievement that were Shivering King and Others and Feathers it falls a bit flat.
First of all, let's get it out of the way right now. This album is the one on which, if you hadn't noticed already, Dead Meadow often has an extremely narrowly-defined sound. At least four times while listening, I thought "Haven't they already done this song about five times already?" If you've ever listened to them before, you know what I'm talking about - it's that one certain cadence they adopt, with the same predictable mini-chorus, and the same exact breakdown.
It is especially evident on "The Great Deceiver", which honestly sounds basically identical to "Heaven" - a song which, itself, has appeared in slightly different form on both their previous albums! One wonders if they're doing it on purpose or if the guitar player just really loves that strumming pattern.
On the bright side, several songs deviate from their established sound by incorporating a laid-back folk-ish vibe. This works especially well on album closer "Either Way", which is one of the most beautiful songs they've ever done, and sounds like it could have come straight out of an acoustic Spiritualized set, even down to the vocals. "Keep On Walking" has a kind of funky-country sound with acoustic and slide guitar and fuzz bass that basically copies the best parts of Jesus and Mary Chain's remarkably un-JAMC album Stoned and Dethroned note for note.
On the down side, fans of their amazing epic guitar work are going to be hard-pressed to fall in love with anything on here. We have one 7 minute song - album opener,"Ain't Got Nothing to Go Wrong" - which may as well be an outtake from Feathers. Aside from that, several songs clock in under 3 minutes and the rest hover around 4. It's a very "pop" approach for a band legendary for its psychedelic freakouts.
I'll still get the album on the 22nd, assuming I get to see them live as I plan, and I wonder how the material will translate. The last time I saw them, in 2005, they completely destroyed and it remains one of my 5 favorite live shows of all time.
tl;dr - 8.0/10
