Regarding the new GT song:
The song actually sounds decent in many respects, which is a plesant surprise. The riff is nice and crunchy, I actually like the keyboards (although they sound a bit muted) and it seems like Tate and Slater actually came up with some halfway decent vocal melodies. The song has a relatively modern metal vibe to it, and it doesn't sound as contrived as I expected. Something about the verse, in particular, reminds me a bit of Kamelot, and since I am a huge fan of Kamelot, that is a mighty compliment coming from me.
Unfortunately, the song still has some major issues. Tate's vocals are just shot to hell and back now, and he can't hold a note to save his life. When he's singing the lower register parts in the verse, he sounds ok, but the vocal melodies in the chorus just fall so very, very flat. The result is that what should be the biggest part of the song just sounds weak and neutered, and that big moment that every pop/rock song needs just never comes, pretty much due solely to Geoff's vox sounding like shit these days. His range is decimated, and his little vocal establishments that attempt to spice up the songs just come across as forced and unnatural. And when he does go for the big notes..... ye Gods, WTF, Geoff? That "This Feels Right" part at the end of the second verse is cringe-inducing.
Oh and that solo. Yea, it sounds alright, but it also sounds like it was cut and pasted from another song. Beyond that, the chorus just runs straight on into it, giving no breathing room and no build-up to the solo. And the solo itself has no dynamics or variety, and therefore, no emotion. Seriously, this sounds like an amateur who thinks he's the next Yngwie ripping out a couple of quick scale licks just the show off his "skillz".
So, overall, better then I was expecting (much better, actually) but it still fails to hide the major underlying problem; that Geoff is his own worst enemy now for the simple fact that he cannot sing.