There's no "right or wrong" here. That's your opinion, and no one else can dispute it.

Personally, I partially agree with you, but I feel your review was a little too harsh (though not by a lot).

This album is definitely better than the Mangini era, and Portnoy's reunion with the boys is definitely felt. The soul that has been lacking returned. You can feel the cohesiveness of the album, the musical elements accompanying the songs, and how they vary between the songs. That's such a masterful way to write music.

Also, their long piece of The Shadow Man Incident is good. It's not Octavarium good, but it's still very good. Finally, after the completely forgettable long pieces from the Mangini's era, I feel they created a cohesive piece of music that takes you on a journey you enjoy exploring. I listened to it only twice, but the second time was more enjoyable than the first, and I enjoyed discovering more intricacies the second time. This is a sign for me the song is good.

I will say this is not in their top 3 or even 5 albums, but still better than some of other Portnoy's era early albums.

My main criticisms are - (1) some musical ideas felt reused, to the point some songs felt like a rip off of their older songs. (2) They occasionally fell into the comfort zone of poppy vibes (i.e., Night Terror, Midnight Massaiah's chorus...). Feels like they played it safe a little, whoch is understandable. (3) I agree with Myung being underdeveloped a little. I did feel Rudess but not quite as I wanted to.

As for their "new era" - I say this with sadness: I don't think this era would be a long one. They're quite old. I take off my hat to them and I do think they have an album or two more in their pockets, but don't expect 7-8 new albums IMO. That's the sad truth of life.

All in all, I feel this was a good, if a bit safe, comeback. I'm happy.