I don't think it does, either, but do think it refines it, which is a lot to be said for a band that has as much musical ambition as this one does. It also says something that it leaves me mostly satisfied but still wanting more, and we'll get more, which is pretty awesome.
Elite:
If you go into it expecting musical evolution and a huge journey, you'll come out a bit disappointed probably. But keep the usual bliss-killing-bullshit called hype in check and if you're in the mood for some BTBAM, you'll more than likely dig it. Like a couple people have said, this didn't break any boundaries or go places they haven't been before as CE tried to do (and succeeded wonderfully, in my opinion, but I digress). If you're skeptical, I'd recommend waiting for the whole album to come out. (Well, the next side...double albums are always so odd in that it's tough to consider the whole thing on one side since it's clearly meant to be heard through both. It's very much a "whole" album, but with BTBAM standards, it's definitely thinner than most.
This is the classic BTBAM sound brought back a bit, with a refinement of what they brought in musically over the last few albums. It's the most screaming that Giles has done since Parallax but he's also taking the growling and screaming in a slightly different direction than the usual higher-pitched screaming (though that's still there). He's definitely in top form here, to my ears anyway, which is the biggest and most welcome change after a very different approach on CE (again, not a bad thing to me, but certainly a different side from the band but especially from Giles).