I think there's one thing we can all agree on. I cannot wait for the third album of the Mangini era!
I disagree. I think you CAN wait for the third album of the Mangini era.
In all seriousness, though, I think, for me, they'll either play it super-safe for the next one, or really knock it out of the park with someone drastically different. Looking back at JLB's first three albums, we had IAW, Awake, and then FII, the first two of which are undeniable classics while the third has some gems, but the rest are OK. Then we move to JR's first three albums with the band, and SFAM and SDOIT are amazing albums while TOT has some good songs, but it's not Top 3 material for me, or many fans that I've seen. I wonder if we'll see a similar pattern with MM in that his third album with the band might not live up to his first two? Hopefully we'll know sometime in the next 12-18 months.
-Marc.