I am one of the few hundred lucky people to have heard the new pumpkins release in advance. This album is pure genius. I couldn't really expect any less from a pumpkins album considering they have been delivering the goods of progressive genius rock since 1991 when they released the indie rock hit 'Gish'. Smashing Pumpkins got recognized when they released the alt-rock masterpiece 'Siamese Dream' which proved the Pumpkins were a genre all their own. 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' was a double disc concept release which left rock critics with their jaws on the floor. Many critics expected a 'The Wall' pt. 2. But music lovers embraced it as a genius album mixing rock anthems, pop classics, goodnight lullabies and awe-inspiring ballads. This was an album that never let up. Adore which was claimed to be a commercial failure was actually the most emotionally and progressive the Pumpkins ever got. It wasn’t a rock album, but if you have an attention span, you truly enjoy it! Now the pumpkins re-hired Jimmy Chamberlin who was fired in 96 for drugs and the bellow is back. But wait, there are still some resonance left from Adore and some classic pumpkins rock work. If you listen closely you can hear the progression. With under-lying guitar parts and bottom heavy bass riffs and sonic drum work. This proves the band as a whole had a lot to do with this masterpiece. The album starts out with a catchy hard-rock track which is the first single. It is perfect really, the lyrics go 'ya know I'm not dead'. Take that rock critics and unloyal pumpkin fans who didn’t buy Adore. Did you actually think they lost their edge? They had always had it and the first song proves it. The other tracks on the album go deeper into the experimental side they went with 'Adore'. 'Raindrops and Sunshowers' and 'The Sacred + Profane' have a little bit of that electronic side with a new twist showing Corgans growth as a producer and songwriter. Other tracks like 'I of the Mourning' and 'Stand Inside Your Love' remind you of the unpolished radiant guitar from 'Gish' or 'Siamese Dream' and kick in with the distortion mid-way through the song and by the end you'll be gasping for air. These are truly the most powerful tracks on the album. There are some hard and heavy rock tunes on the album as well. 'Heavy Metal Machine' and 'The Imploding Voice' with rather pretentious names ,but deliver fully with a Pumpkins rock anthem tradition. I can see the crowd jumping already. If your one of those people who love pop/rock songs at their best I suggest 'Try, Try, Try' or 'Wound'. These will put a smile on your face! Oh and I can't forget the haunting Goth rock experimental tunes like 'The Crying Tree of Mercury' and 'Blue Skies Bring Tears'. They bring tears to your eyes and send shivers down your spine. Pumpkins always seem to have a epic song that embodies the whole album like 'Silverf**k' , 'Porcelina of the Vast oceans', 'Thru the eyes of ruby' and 'For Martha' from previous albums. This album features a nine-minute double interweaving song piece called 'Glass + the Ghost Children'. It has brave guitar, beautiful complicated hard -hitting lyrics and will make you think Radiohead and Pink Floyd would be jealous. It even has a mid song interview with Corgan ranting about god and why people think of him negatively while someone changes the tapes speed and plays haunting piano. As you sing along at the end 'as she counted the spiders as they crawl up inside her' you'll know why are the pumpkins are the last and only of their kind. This album proves that ten years later this band can still make what they have always achieved 'great rock classic albums'. They have done it again. It has sophisticated songwriting, exalted producing from Flood and Corgan, and moving, astonishing songwriting by Corgan and company. This band goes balls to the wall with their skill and talent. Alert the Rock n Roll 'Hall of Fame' we've got some legends on our hands!