Coming off of the worst-received album of his career (and pretty much one of the worst-received albums ever), Cudi has a lot to prove. Speeding Bullet 2 Heaven was a deeply personal album where he totally changed his entire musical style, abandoning the atmospheric sing/rap style her perfected on early albums like his Man on the Moon series and making an atonal, guitar-driven, Beavis & Butthead-sampling attempt at punk that simply didn’t play off well.

Cudi just released the tracklist for his next album, tentatively still titled Passion, Pain, and Demon Slaying, and it seems like he’s returning to his old style (something he’s confirmed in recent interviews).

For starters, the album is divided into four sections – titled Tuned, Prophecy, Niveaux de l’Amour, and It’s Bright and Heaven is Warm – reminiscent of his five act debut Man on the Moon: The End of Day . Secondly, the features point to a return to his old sound. Along with singer Willow Smith, Cudi recruited Travis Scott, Pharrell, and André 3000 (in two features!) for the eighteen-track record.

Kid Cudi’s signature style had a profound effect, influencing everyone from Kanye West to Kevin Abstract. He’s admitted that his divergence in sound was a personal choice, something he had to do for himself, and he was noticeably upset by the fan response; but as a fan, I’m hoping that Passion, Pain, and Demon Slaying brings back the heartbreak and 808s that made him one of the most important artists of his generation.