Considering how much ownage the last album, Deconstruction/Ghost was, I would have to say that this is... a terrible album.
One very important Townsend album is missing here; his songwriting innovation. The one property that made the highly clusterfuck of a mess Deconstruction such an exhilarating record that was bold, epic and catchy. Epicloud on the other hand, sounds weirdly idiotic and stupid. Not only has Townsend almost completely forgot that he is a metal artist, which is okay considering how bands should expand their musical horizons, Epicloud sounds like a goddamn radio rock album with flat vocals, disappointing guitar and almost zero creativity in the songs.
It's like Townsend without the genius moments. No mindfuck guitar solos, no frenzied drumming, no slight acoustics with firm, supple vocals. Save for the massively accessible 'True North' and 'Liberation' that I can see even my niece singing along to, the album is rife with weird songs like 'Lucky Animals' that do not seem to make sense and sound ironically retarded. There are numerous songs that are almost pop, including 'Save Our Now', 'Grace', the rerecorded 'Kingdom' and 'More!'. Whilst these songs can be appreciated in a pop sense, the same does not imply for the rest of the albums.
Maybe his creative streak ended with Deconstruction, it's time he stopped mass-producing albums for some time and take a break.
★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable
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