After listening to the album a few times I don't think it's as bleak as some are making it out to be. With that being said though I do have some issues with some of the decisions that have gone into the composition of some of the songs.
Nobody Can Save me is a great song, but the pitched voices at the beginning feel really out of place for me. I feel like the pitched voices work rather well, and feel natural on some of the other songs like Battle Sumphony and Sorry for Now, but the way they are used here feels quite jarring. Another issue for me is the resolution of some songs. Battle Symphony stands out here as building up to the bridge and then just sort of ending and I really think a repeat of the bridge after the final chorus would have created a stronger ending.
There are two misses here for me. Halfway right has some heartfelt and insightful lyrics, but the chorus (and ultimately the song) goes nowhere, and feels undercooked. The other song that I don't particularly enjoy is one that has been largely sited as being one of the better tracks on the album, that being One More Light. This is another song that feels rather linear in the sense that it doesn't build up at all. It's an intimate affair and I understand that, but it's still a miss for me.
All in all I can see myself actively listening to around sixty percent of the album consistently, but only time will tell which songs stand the test of time.
