Although the classic elements of Symphony X are there - a mini acollade in the middle of When All Is Lost, A great Choir in Iconoclast, MJR bringing something new to his solos (lots of double stops), some groovy odd-metered parts, strange key leads - It's a CD that doesn't stand out in these elements that I think are the essence of Symphony X.
They're jus details in the bigger picture, that is more Power Metal oriented (wich I generally don't like), with double blasting bass drums, cheesy lyrics and melody and more generic riffing (few changes, compared for example to the riff progression on walls Of Babylon or Domination).
When I had only listened to end of innocence and Dehumanized, that sound more like traditional Heavy metal, I didn't expect to be a semi-prog POWER metal style. And the beggining of Reign In Madness, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT BEGGINING? The song is pretty good, but that's the worst part on a SX song ever, even worst than the beggining of Whispers.
My words may seem harsh, but still, if all power metal bands sounded like that, I would definitely be a fan of this style. Although I think it's their weakest, I like it. There's no band out there that does what SX does. Being one of my favorite bands, it's a pretty good CD, but I expected more.