No band compares to 1970s to 1980s hard rock group Aerosmith, dubbed the "Bad Boys from Boston," when it comes to intermember conflict.  Between constant breakups, a public feud between front man Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry, Tyler's season as an American Idol judge and a band-wide attempt to find a replacement lead singer, it has become near impossible to keep up with band drama.  No one expected Aerosmith to ever get its act together.  However, all of a sudden, in  the summer of 2012 the band announced a countrywide tour in support of its highly anticipated album Music From Another Dimension!-the group's first studio effort since 2004's lukewarm Honkin' On Bobo.   

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Given Aerosmith's reputation for lack of communication and trust between bandmates, key aspects of producing quality material in a group setting, it is difficult to conceive that Music will be a good album.  Unexpectedly, Music From Another Dimension! greatly resembles the musical style of classic Aerosmith releases such as 1975's Toys in The Attic, 1987's Permanent Vacation and 1989's Pump, though it leaves much to be desired.  

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The record opens with an ominous, robotic voice that matches the science-fiction theme touched upon by the album cover and title.  The warning states that, "You are about to enter a great adventure ... from which you may never return."  This introduction matches the science fiction theme of the album title, Music From Another Dimension! and the supporting tour's title, "The Global Warming Tour," but not much else.  The opening track, "Luv XXX," which sounds unmistakably like typical Aerosmith, strongly kicks off the hour-long odyssey as a loud, raunchy sound explodes out of the speakers.  Drummer Joey Kramer truly shines on the track, sounding as energetic as he did in 1975 on "Walk This Way." The next standout track is, "Out Go the Lights," which blends stadium funk and hard rock in a way truly unique to Aerosmith, only crippled mildly by its length.

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"Out Go the Lights" signifies the beginning of the strongest set of songs  on the album, which includes the lead single and best track off Music From Another Dimension!, "Legendary Child," the power ballad, "What Could Have Been Love" and "Lover Alot," another raunchy jam reminiscent of "Luv XXX." 

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Music From Another Dimension!'s most obvious anomaly is its ninth track, "Can't Stop Lovin' You," which oddly enough, since Aerosmith is by nature a hard rock and blues rock band, features country singer Carrie Underwood. Straying from anything an older reincarnation of Aerosmith would compose, "Can't Stop Lovin' You" is, by nature, a generic, cheesy country pop song that confuses listeners as to the motives of the album. The album's overall purpose needs to be clarified. 

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Although the record certainly contains several diamonds in the rough, the album as a whole lacks cohesion.  An album should rely on every track to pull the listener through, and the individual songs on Music fail to flow into one another.  

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That being said, the album is certainly bearable. It's actually a decent listen and better than anything the band has put out in this millennium.  However, when one thinks of Aerosmith, one thinks of a level of power, in sound and performance, that Music From Another Dimension! approaches but does not quite reach.