Ever since the band return from hiatus in 2013, YouTube comments aplenty ask the same question: what happened to the old Fall Out Boy, and when will they come back?

For those who are not familiar with the punk rock/pop punk band Fall Out Boy, allow me to inform you. The band, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, drummer Andy Hurley, and guitarist Joe Trohman rose in the 2000s with hit songs including "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs," "Dance, Dance," and "Sugar We're Going Down Swinging." When the band hit several troubles during the production and tour backing their 2009 album, Folie a Deux, the band took a hiatus until 2013, when they released their album "Save Roll and Roll."

Since their return into the music scene, the band has seen the subsequent release of their album American Beauty/American Psycho from January 2015, and their most recent album, titled M A N I A released earlier this month. The success from their newest album, from when it was released on the January 19th, has not gone unnoticed.

Coming in number one for Billboard's Top 200 albums for the week of January 30th, according to an article for Alternative Press, M A N I A beat out the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman.

However, the album has received a fair share of critique from fans, following in the trend shown from their post-hiatus albums. While a glance at the music video for their single "Young and Menace," shows plenty of support from fans praising the newest era for the band, there are those who dismiss the band for constantly changing sound over the years.

While it is true that Fall Out Boy has notoriously changed sound over the years, adding synth and deliberate pitches to Stump's vocals, there is still a distinctive sound that carries throughout the band's discography. The fact of the matter is that Stump's voice is unique. While many feel that his enunciation of words makes it hard to decipher lyrics, particularly in the band's early years, his vocal range is his own, and the band's sound cannot be mistaken.

On the other hand, the "old" Fall Out Boy from the days of From Under the Cork Tree and Infinity on High has passed. A look through the years of releases since 2013 shows an increase in songs with techno influences and collaborations with rappers such as Big Sean. I would go so far as to make the claim that Fall Out Boy has moved on from strictly punk influences into a more pop sphere.

However, after taking a look at the artists themselves and the span of years they have been active, the constant motion in their sound has kept the band relevant and able to top the charts in the way they do. As stated in the article, M A N I A is Fall Out Boy's fourth album to top on Billboard, and I would even suspect that the album will linger towards the top for some weeks to come.

The change throughout the albums is to be expected from a band that has been around as long as Fall Out Boy has. Since their start in 2001, they have released seven full length albums, EPs, and singles. Just as much criticism as they have taken for changing their sound, they band would have received just as much disapproval for not venturing out of a single sphere of music. A look at Panic! at the Disco, a band with a similar sound and relatively same fan base, reflects a change just the same.

Fall Out Boy has been able to stay at the forefront of the pop punk scene because of the change in music and their ability to keep a diverse set of songs that will not bore their audience. The musical talent of the four members would staunch in comparison to actuality if they refused to show the range of sounds they are capable of bringing together in an album.

M A N I A, in my opinion, serves as a synthesis of sounds and shows exactly what the band is capable of producing. The punk elements in "Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea," the techno influences in "Young and Menace," the rock ballad of "Heaven's Gate," and the rap in "Sunshine Riptide" encapsulated in the album - along with the rest of the tracks on the album - provide a sound anyone can enjoy.