I have to disagree with no hooks. I can nearly hum all songs along from the top of my head by now and adore most solos and orchestrations. The album is more melodic than the previous one. I find it strange that people do not find any hooks in this, for me it is one after the other. And as far as BG cliches go, ATEOT's songwriting was way more familiar territory (fans consider it the refined "safe" album). Aside from typical elements, most of the songs sound nothing like previous work at all as a whole (Prophecies, the Throne, Holy Grail and Doom are the most familiar tunes I'd say). Even most choruses stray from their usual stuff, which is something they are often criticized for post-Nightfall (Twilight of the Gods would be a clear german metal cliche chorus example). And Hansi sings in ways he has not done before (namely ATEOT the song, Miracle Machine and Sacred Mind).
When it does not click, it does not click. I get that. But I kind of take offense in calling other peoples enjoyment baffling to be honest. It is not even a minority opinion (which I admit frequently have), the consensus amongst the fans is great so far too, see rock hard forums, metalfan, neogaf, reddit, official BG, yt etc. A lot of people do say it is not an easy pill to swallow, however.
Almost everyone agree the production is bad though. And most think the single Twilight of the Gods sucks balls and is made of several songs hussled together. Ashes of Eternity seems to be the most divisive song, with people either loving it or hating it.
I do hope they refrain from doing many songs live though. I did not really like it either when they did Wheel of Time, some of this new stuff will not work at all imo.