Who really wants to talk about them here? This is a metal board.
Plus, even with them going in a "harder" direction (which is a good idea by the way), they are not a metal band.
What defines a metal band? Personally, I think that you have to have fast double kick in at least one song. You must sing/scream about either Satan/death/war/politics/etc. in a number of tunes, and no disrespect, "Here we go with the dynamo" don't cut it as metal lyrics. I haven't heard much of the new album though, so unless I'm way off here I don't think that they've changed that much. They are a little heavier though. Good for them.
I know a few of them firsthand, and the ones I've met are nice guys. They play what they play and that's fine. Wish them all the best with their effort. But when people talk about them being metal I get a little confused.