I don’t think it’s bad, I like it a lot. Not as much as the three albums before but also not less than Toxic or Division.
It’s just instead of the usual change from album to album it’s rather a continuation of Ninth that lacks its variety (which I think is because there are songs by Uruha and Aoi on Ninth but exclusively all by Ruki on Mass). It’s a solid album with some songs I constantly listen to (Blinding Hope, Nox, The Pale, Daku, I also even love Moment a very lot, but it has some personal meaning to me). And I guess, with a bit more time and/or more variety it could have turned out as great as in my opinion Ninth is.
Maybe more time isn’t even the problem but the working conditions coupled with the mental toll of the time it was created as well. We won’t know anyway.
I might be wrong but with them saying right from the beginning back in 2024 that there won’t be a replacement for Reita I think it’s the band having the hardest part to let anyone in. If that counts for another guitarist with how things happened, I’m not sure. So I weren’t surprised, if they got another guitarist but no bassist. Or none at all.
I’m going with all of that, three people, four, five.