June 27, 2017 -- STYX’s highly anticipated and critically acclaimed 16th studio album, THE MISSION, has rocketed to the top of various Billboard’s charts thanks to a solid album that has connected with their longtime fans as well as new fans who are discovering them for the first time.
THE MISSION’s chart positions:
#6 Top Rock Albums
#11 Physical Albums
#11 Vinyl Albums
#13 Current Albums
#14 Billboard Top Albums
#16 Retail
#17 Mass Merch/Non-Traditional
#29 Digital Albums
#45 Billboard 200 (includes catalog and streaming)
THE MISSION--which was recorded over a two-year period at Blackbird Studios, The Shop, and 6 Studio Amontillado in Nashville--displays the best aspects of the ongoing in-harmony musical intersection of the six-man STYX team: the guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer/percussionist Todd Sucherman, and bassist Ricky Phillips.
The term “masterpiece” has shown up in many rave reviews of THE MISSION right out of the gate:
“The entire band is firing on all cylinders...There is a theme and flow here that is edgy yet comfortable, astral yet grounded...The band gives us so many places to live, and we can call each of them home. It may be too early to call it a masterpiece, but I can safely say that Styx has released one of the best albums in their catalog, and that’s saying a whole lot.” -- Scott Itter, DrMusic.org, May 18, 2017
“Overall, 14 years is a wait but it is worth the wait. It really showcases that Styx is extremely prudent about their craft, how each part is interwoven like the finest silks to a tapestry in order to present that tapestry to the Emperor of an empire. The harmonies, arrangements, progression, and the story telling is something that Styx longs for in an album. In a world of instant gratification and that “here today, gone tomorrow” mentality of the music industry, Styx has shown why they have been a band for 45 years... masterpiece known as THE MISSION... --Matty Douglas, Muenmagazine.net, June 13, 2017
“THE MISSION is quite simply a musical masterpiece. Kudos to Styx for putting out a record this bold and this brilliant after 45 years.” -- David "Gus" Griesinger, Backstageaxxess.com,
June 16, 2017
Meanwhile, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON and very special guest star DON FELDER—formerly of the Eagles— kicked off the “United We Rock” U.S. summer tour last week to packed houses and rave reviews. Produced by Live Nation, tickets for various cities are on sale now. A video trailer can be seen here.
STYX IS READY FOR TAKEOFF WITH THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 14 YEARS, ‘THE MISSION,’ DUE OUT JUNE 16 ON ALPHA DOG 2T/UMe
Friday, April 21 -- Welcome one and all to THE MISSION, STYX’s sonically sweet 16th studio album and its most ambitious, most challenging, and most rewarding release to date. Please take note of the official stardate, as THE MISSION has duly been set for liftoff June 16 on the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Fans can pre-order the album at any of these online retail outlets and Styxworld.com.
The first single, “Gone Gone Gone,” was released today at radio and online retail outlets. A video premiered on Billboard.com and can be seen here.
“The planets truly aligned for THE MISSION, and I couldn’t be prouder,” says vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw, who co-wrote the album’s storyline with longtime collaborator Will Evankovich (Shaw/Blades, The Guess Who). “It’s our boldest, most emblematic album since PIECES OF EIGHT.”
As founding guitarist James “JY” Young continues, “In the 40th anniversary year of our release of our biggest selling album of all time, GRAND ILLUSION, it just seemed truly appropriate to save our new studio album until this year. Needless to say, I’m very excited.”
“THE MISSION is a deep, conceptual, and cinematic epic that offers listeners a thrilling emotional journey — and all ‘cast’ with impassioned guitar parts and those textured, ‘chill-inducing’ Styx vocals. Guitarists Tommy Shaw and James Young sound like they’re energetic upstarts with something to prove, rather than members of a band with decades of history. This is a truly brilliant soundscape, as well as a tribute to the evocative power of the guitar.” — Michael Molenda, Editor-in-Chief, Guitar Player
“A throwback to the styles of classic Styx records like THE GRAND ILLUSIONand PIECES OF EIGHT, THE MISSION is a wonderful mix of knotty, '70s-era progressive rock madness alongside the melodic power pop the band does so well. Todd Sucherman might be the baby of the group, but he’s an old soul when it comes to finding the right flavor for the new material—and he’s not shy to provide a healthy slab of blazing hand technique, elevating parts to a whole other level of excitement.”
-- Ilya Stemkovsky, Modern Drummer
“Styx have really delivered a welcome addition to their catalog with the arrival of THE MISSION, which wraps in all of the important elements of their much loved classic sound, with a wealth of big hooks, anthemic choruses and most importantly, an album’s worth of really good Styx music.”
--Matt Wardlaw, UltimateClassicRock.com
Indeed, THE MISSION is an aurally adventurous 43-minute thrill ride that chronicles the trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumphs of the first manned mission to Mars in the year 2033. From the hopeful drive of “Gone Gone Gone” to the stargazing machinations of “Locomotive” to the rough-riding blaze of glory that permeates the hard-charging “Red Storm” to the elegiac optimism of the closing track “Mission to Mars,” the album succeeds in delivering the greater good from a band that continues to fire on all cylinders, 45 years after signing its first recording contract.
In fact, THE MISSION--which was recorded over a two-year period at Blackbird Studios, The Shop, and 6 Studio Amontillado in Nashville--displays the best aspects of the ongoing in-harmony musical intersection of the six-man STYX team: the aforementioned guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer/percussionist Todd Sucherman, and bassist Ricky Phillips.
The new music was created to reflect the viewpoint of the six-person crew enlisted for the maiden voyage of Khedive, the first entry in a new fleet of nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft underwritten by the Global Space Exploration Program (or GSEP, for short). The Khedive team consists of The Pilot, a fully hands-on, seat-of-the-pants born leader; a First Officer who serves as the team’s big-brother figure; an Engineer who is skeptical of every phase of the mission but remains confident in his own abilities to make the best of any technical situation; and a Top-Shelf Trio of science, astrophysics, and survivalist experts.
“The album feels simultaneously comfortable and new,” observes Gowan. “It’s both entertaining and charming, and a natural progression of our sound.” Concludes Panozzo, “THE MISSION is a sincere and honest representation of how STYX built upon where we were in the 20th century in order to go somewhere new in the 21st century.” And that’s the gist of THE MISSION, STYX’s bold sonic voyage into an exciting new frontier with the goal of discovering how the universe’s mysteries unfold—and then creating the perfect soundtrack to accompany it.
STYX IS READY FOR TAKEOFF WITH THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 14 YEARS, ‘THE MISSION,’ DUE OUT JUNE 16 ON ALPHA DOG 2T/UMe
Friday, April 21 -- Welcome one and all to THE MISSION, STYX’s sonically sweet 16th studio album and its most ambitious, most challenging, and most rewarding release to date. Please take note of the official stardate, as THE MISSION has duly been set for liftoff June 16 on the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Fans can pre-order the album at any of these online retail outlets and Styxworld.com.
The first single, “Gone Gone Gone,” was released today at radio and online retail outlets. A video premiered on Billboard.com and can be seen here.
“The planets truly aligned for THE MISSION, and I couldn’t be prouder,” says vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw, who co-wrote the album’s storyline with longtime collaborator Will Evankovich (Shaw/Blades, The Guess Who). “It’s our boldest, most emblematic album since PIECES OF EIGHT.”
As founding guitarist James “JY” Young continues, “In the 40th anniversary year of our release of our biggest selling album of all time, GRAND ILLUSION, it just seemed truly appropriate to save our new studio album until this year. Needless to say, I’m very excited.”
“THE MISSION is a deep, conceptual, and cinematic epic that offers listeners a thrilling emotional journey — and all ‘cast’ with impassioned guitar parts and those textured, ‘chill-inducing’ Styx vocals. Guitarists Tommy Shaw and James Young sound like they’re energetic upstarts with something to prove, rather than members of a band with decades of history. This is a truly brilliant soundscape, as well as a tribute to the evocative power of the guitar.” — Michael Molenda, Editor-in-Chief, Guitar Player
“A throwback to the styles of classic Styx records like THE GRAND ILLUSIONand PIECES OF EIGHT, THE MISSION is a wonderful mix of knotty, '70s-era progressive rock madness alongside the melodic power pop the band does so well. Todd Sucherman might be the baby of the group, but he’s an old soul when it comes to finding the right flavor for the new material—and he’s not shy to provide a healthy slab of blazing hand technique, elevating parts to a whole other level of excitement.”
-- Ilya Stemkovsky, Modern Drummer
“Styx have really delivered a welcome addition to their catalog with the arrival of THE MISSION, which wraps in all of the important elements of their much loved classic sound, with a wealth of big hooks, anthemic choruses and most importantly, an album’s worth of really good Styx music.”
--Matt Wardlaw, UltimateClassicRock.com
Indeed, THE MISSION is an aurally adventurous 43-minute thrill ride that chronicles the trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumphs of the first manned mission to Mars in the year 2033. From the hopeful drive of “Gone Gone Gone” to the stargazing machinations of “Locomotive” to the rough-riding blaze of glory that permeates the hard-charging “Red Storm” to the elegiac optimism of the closing track “Mission to Mars,” the album succeeds in delivering the greater good from a band that continues to fire on all cylinders, 45 years after signing its first recording contract.
In fact, THE MISSION--which was recorded over a two-year period at Blackbird Studios, The Shop, and 6 Studio Amontillado in Nashville--displays the best aspects of the ongoing in-harmony musical intersection of the six-man STYX team: the aforementioned guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer/percussionist Todd Sucherman, and bassist Ricky Phillips.
The new music was created to reflect the viewpoint of the six-person crew enlisted for the maiden voyage of Khedive, the first entry in a new fleet of nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft underwritten by the Global Space Exploration Program (or GSEP, for short). The Khedive team consists of The Pilot, a fully hands-on, seat-of-the-pants born leader; a First Officer who serves as the team’s big-brother figure; an Engineer who is skeptical of every phase of the mission but remains confident in his own abilities to make the best of any technical situation; and a Top-Shelf Trio of science, astrophysics, and survivalist experts.
“The album feels simultaneously comfortable and new,” observes Gowan. “It’s both entertaining and charming, and a natural progression of our sound.” Concludes Panozzo, “THE MISSION is a sincere and honest representation of how STYX built upon where we were in the 20th century in order to go somewhere new in the 21st century.” And that’s the gist of THE MISSION, STYX’s bold sonic voyage into an exciting new frontier with the goal of discovering how the universe’s mysteries unfold—and then creating the perfect soundtrack to accompany it.
In the show's only interview, Stephen Pearcy talks about his upcoming solo album SMASH, recently singing alongside Judas Priest frontman ROB HALFORD, looks back at the Ratt album Dancing Undercover and discusses the recently released picture of him sitting along side Juan Croucier and Warren DeMartini. Was it simply a photo or was it a hint of things to come?
Quotes from the interview:
The discussion about "the photo" starts 5.55.
(time 7.03): "Never say never."
(time 7.12): "The picture spoke a thousand words."
In the show's only interview, Lawrence Gowan of STYX discusses the band's LIVE AT THE ORLEANS ARENA LAS VEGAS DVD, his recently re-released Lost Brotherhood & ...But You Can Call Me Larry solo albums, becoming the voice of STYX, touring and much more.
Quotes from the interview:
Styx Live (time 4.56): "As JY says - they have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choices of songs to play."
Becoming the voice of STYX (time 8.14): "The great thing about this band and what made me lean towards it - was that they never asked me... Not once on the very first meeting... Not once until here we are seventeen plus years later... Not once did they ever ask me to replicate or imitate or in any way do any sort of impression of Dennis DeYoung. In fact, it was never even put that I was replacing anyone in the band."
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Gowan: "Since one very memorable night in 1996 I’ve been hoping that a return trip to the Glenn Gould Studio Theatre in Toronto would come to be. I’m very pleased to announce that it’s happening on October 13, 2013 and the opportunity to once again perform on that incredible Steinway is something I’m very much looking forward to.
“No Kilt Tonight… Gowan Solo-Live” is the piano (and a bit of guitar) album which we recorded at the Glenn Gould on that first occasion in ’96…We’ll be “In Kilt Tonight” for the 2013 chapter. I’ll be playing a number of the most notable songs from the “Gowan” albums in the manner in which those songs were originally conceived. They will include “A Criminal Mind”, “You’re a Strange Animal” and “Moonlight Desires”.
As a member of “Styx” we continue to tour the world extensively every year. At the same time I try to set aside some part of each touring season to perform my solo “Gowan” music. From 2010 to 2012 it was great to play the ‘Gowan-Return Of The Strange Animal’ and ‘Moonlight Desires Live’ full-band shows (seven sold-out nights at the Avalon Theatre at Fallsview in Niagara Falls) and this year the Glenn Gould Studio show will be a return to a ‘Solo-Live’ performance.
I’m happy to say that proceeds from this show will go to McDermott House of Canada; McDermott House Canada focuses on Palliative and Hospice care and their future work will also bring them into the world of PTSD within the veteran community. The first project is the renovation and expansion of the Palliative care unit located in K Wing ( Veterans wing ) at Sunnybrook Health science Centre. This unit serves veterans, first responders and community members in the final journey of life with support, respect and dignity.
