Does anyone else not like LaBrie's solo efforts? :/ I love LaBrie and his singing, but the music sounds no different whatsoever to any other generic power metal band to me.
I don't know if I'd call it power metal, but after the first two Mullmuzzler albums, there is a genericness to it. Especially EOP. Static Impulse was OK, but when I get a James Labrie album, I expect him to be going nuts vocally. You know, generic isn't the word I'd use. I'd probably go with safe.
Agony is a pretty good song. Easily as strong as anything on SI. Still the screamo/growly vocals add nothing to me. To my ears, it simply undercuts the song totally. Adding growls turns it into James answer to AMob.
Hopefully, as with SI, the screams are basically only on the couple songs they released before the album came out. I am looking forward to this album, as I do expect it to be better than SI, and Agony is definitely cool.