Yeah, I hear that. My negative hot take on first listen: Exactly the sum of its parts. Some great ideas that get overused and needlessly complicated in a way that sounds forced/cerebral and misses out on emotional depth. I really like a lot of the riffs, but the rhythmic hiccups and stutters don't convince me. Less of that would have been more. There's something about it that's weirdly all surface-level, polished, not disorienting or surprising in a meaningful way. Krallice and Ad Nauseam feel authentic when they do this kind of thing; this album just feels like a "hey look, we do it too".
Having said that, I like this band and I want to enjoy their stuff. Might have been listening in the wrong mood. Maybe I'll warm up to it.