some recent posts have been hitting on this and i wanted to address it a little further. i was on vacation for a week and things are foggy so forgive me if i have posted about this already. whatever concerns you have about the new album (and trust me i have many), do not worry about the bass playing being substandard. i was pretty amazed that the bass is some of the strongest stuff on the album. these are not bass lines layed out by someone who can't play the instrument - they are extremely technical, flowing parts that settle into the songs nicely. whether you like the songs themselves is completely up to you (i'm still deciding), but all the parts on the album were played with a strong command of their respective instruments. -e- ps. i've talked to a few people so i know i'm not the only one out there who thinks that will's drumming skills are being wasted since the reformation of the group. i know everyone will say he learned restraint and his parts are more mature, but the drums on the last two albums are just not original. his parts used to be so distinctive!
