True. If they made 2 albums from now and the second one felt like they lost their desire to deviate from the one before, I would be quite sad. But who knows, if they made 3 more ATS-like albums I sure wouldn't complain lol.
I'd be down for a hip-hop driven record as a change - as other people pointed out, it would probably only be for one record if they did it. And remember, that doesn't mean it has to be as hip-hop driven as The Rising Tied, I think a record with 5-6 rap-centric tracks mixed in with more regular sung tracks would be really fresh and a good opportunity for Mike to really focus in on that side of his music again. Although if it were my choice to make, I'd love to see either some more folky stuff (much of my favourite of Brad's guitar work is from tracks like Three Band Terror and Sharp Edges, and I feel like he has a lot more to offer in that vein, not to mention that I think chill, folky music would suit Mikes voice perfectly), or go in a more dark, alternative and expansive electronic direction à la much of ATS, It Goes Through, etc.