There's a whole lot of nostalgia and fetishization of this band among the fanbase. Yes, Chi was an awesome dude and Terry Date has been involved with some of their best work, but I hardly think it's accurate to say this band has fallen off post-Chi and that they need Date to get their best sound. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember reading some interview that stated Stephen was the main songwriter for much of their career. That he wrote most all of the strings which includes the bass (until Chino came along), and had a hand in some of the drums and keys as well. I'm sure Chi wrote his share of good stuff and there's a certain intangibility to his presence that must be acknowledged and must have had an effect on the vibe of the band and the writing. But to say that this band is somehow not as good without Chi and with Sergio is kind of nuts. Sorry, but I believe Sergio to be the better technical player and writer. In fact, without Sergio, I think this band may have had to call it a day. From what we've heard of Eros, it didn't sound that interesting, and I think the band agrees today. Stephen's writing has fallen off quite a bit in my opinion and a lot of the more interesting stuff I believe is coming from Sergio. KNY, and to a lesser extent DE, were new creative peaks for the band and were done without Chi or Date. They clearly don't require Date to make great stuff. Stephen has been the weakest link on these last two. Dude needs to smoke less weed and go back to the 7-string at least. Leave the bass playing to Sergio and start writing more progressive stuff. I'm not asking for Tool or Oceansize, but something between their current sound and that would be the way to go.