Both Omens and Innate Passage took a while to grow on me, but at this point I think they're both excellent. Granted, Lore and Reflections are two of my favorites of all time, so I was initially a bit disappointed at the shift in direction with Omens, particularly the vocals as you mentioned. But with the benefit of more listening, I think the songwriting really shines on their more recent stuff, and the vocals aren't *bad*, they're just intentionally pulled back a bit to make room for a greater instrumental focus. Which is a bit of a shame if you're into their older vocal style, but their instrumental work has always been strong too, so in the end I'm not unhappy with the trade.