Styx

Styx

Styx First Studio Album in 14 years, The Mission

Review by Anita Maree Brodersen

Styx fans are rejoicing with “The Mission”, their first studio album in 14 years.  The 14 song album showcases a classic side of the band while displaying a fresh new flow of catchy songs.  While each song is quite unique and stands on its own, if you listen to each song in order it literally takes the listener to a new frontier – that frontier is Planet Mars!  “The Mission” is a concept album about the first manned mission to Mars taking place in the year of 2033.  The album launches with an “Overture” that shows off the top notch music showmanship of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, guitarist/vocalist James Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer Todd Sucherman, and bassist Ricky Phillips.  The rock toppers on this new album are “Gone Gone Gone” – with Lawrence Gowan handling lead vocals and the harmonies are right on and “Hundred Million Miles” with Tommy Shaw taking lead vocals on this one and really wishing this song was a few minutes longer. It is that good!  Lawrence Gowan’s soaring vocals takes over “The Greater Good” with the message of this song targeting straight into the heart.

“The Mission” takes you on a journey from rocket lift off, to hitting some rough spots and “The Red Storm” in outer space ,and then finally the rejoice of “The Outpost” with Gowan taking lead vocals on this hard-hitting rock song that just pushes it up yet another notch.

Styx got it right.  Instead of downloading a few songs off “The Mission” you really need to download all songs and listen to each in the correct order. Besides superb storytelling about the maiden voyage of “Khedive” to Mars, the guitars, harmonies, keyboards on each song showcases the extreme talents of Styx! This is just one amazing ride up. Congratulations Styx on a very impressive album.

“Light it up, Let’s Get this Show on the Road!” For all information on Styx visit

www.styxworld.com | itunes | Amazon | MySpace | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Photos Gallery

Purchase Styx The Mission (2017) at Amazon.com

 

Song List:

  • Overture
  • Gone Gone Gone
  • Hundred Million Miles
  • Trouble At The Big Show
  • Locomotive
  • The Greater Good
  • Time May Bend
  • Ten Thousand Ways
  • All Systems Stable
  • Khedive
  • The Outpost
  • Mission To Mars