I've listened several times through- there are some songs I like a lot, and some songs that I'm kind of in the middle about. As a whole, it's pretty drastically different than anything they've ever done before. For what it is, it's a good album, but I would have preferred that it be released as a Jared Leto side project or something. Don't get me wrong- I like it when bands tread new ground, but this album feels almost so far removed from a good solid 30 Seconds To Mars rock album, that it feels like the 30 Seconds To Mars I love has broken up. Standout tracks are "Kings And Queens", "Night Of The Hunter", "Hurricane" (although Kanye's contributions are absolutely ruinous to the song as a whole), "Alibi", and "Stranger In A Strange Land" (probably my favorite, very reminiscent of their first album). The other songs are not bad, but c'mon- "Closer To The Edge" totally sounds like it was written for Kelly Clarkson, as well as "Search & Destroy". I do like some Kelly Clarkson, but the last thing I want is for 30 Seconds To Mars to sound like that! "Vox Populi" is fairly cool, but sounds like it was written for U2.
PS, crowd vocals are awesome, but I think it's a bit overdone on the album. They lose some of their emotional power when they appear multiple times in nearly every song!
