TI was a step down from FOABP imo.
I really loved it at first, but as i said, it didn't come close in the end to match the awesomeness of albums like Fear of a Blank Planet, Signify or Up the Downstair for example.
The song-cycle is great, but i don't think the songs individually can compete with older stuff.
The only songs on it, that i think works good individually are "
Time Flies" and "
I Drive the Hearse", the rest of the song-cycle is pretty dull, EXCEPT for when listening to the whole thing.
But as for FOABP, it's great overall, but the songs also work very well individually.
Lots of songs on TI get's loads of praise, but i think songs like "The Blind House", "Drawing the Line" and "Octane Twisted" (just to name a few) are pretty mediocre by PT-standards.
CD2 is very solid though, i prefer it over the first disc.
Overall, i'd say my biggest problem with the album is the fact that it doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
Surely you can point out the fact that they did a 55 min song-cycle (which was new), or the song-writing skill that has increased a lot, but if you look at it from a neutral point of view, it's like a "best of PT".
The metal-parts are heavier then earlier, the melodies are catchier, but overall it's still a PT-sound we're familiar with, hopefully PT will do something completely new (soundwise) next time, because even though i don't dislike their current sound, i still like evolution.
And also, i'm no 'The Incident-hater' by any means, i think it's a pretty awesome album.
'Just' awesome by PT-standards though. :>
BC&SL was great, but i would prefer to see their next album a bit more mixed between shorter/longer songs, i think it's a good balance if only one or two songs have the epic-length.