I agree that TNB sounds different than the previous SYL albuns, but I don't think it sounds worse because of it.
SYL was always changing since the begining...from the industrial/grind/groovy madness on HAARHT and City, to the extreme/pseudoblackmetallisms on SYL, bits of "dark ambient" on Alien, besides a "metal for the masses" vibe that continued on TNB (with a return of the groovy side with tracks like Hope and Fucker). Honestly, I enjoyed them all, in different ways...
The "pissed off" persona that Devin created back then turned to a more ironic and clever guy, just listen to the lyrics or watch some footage from Ozzfest or Download Festival
I believe that TNB (or even the previous albums) will start to be more "enjoyable" (I don't know if that's the right word, forgive my 3rd world english
) if people stop the comparisons with the older material.