After the very good 'The Mission' in 2017 which had seen the revival of this legendary group, the Americans not having released albums of original songs since 'Cyclorama' from 2003 ('Big Band Theory' from 2005 being a cover album), 'Styx' releases a new album 'Crash Of The Crown'. Of the original group remain the vocalists and guitarists 'James Young' and 'Tommy Shaw' (who really joined the band in 1975) and bassist 'Chuck Panozzo' (who was the founder of 'Styx' along with his brother, the drummer 'John Panozzo' who died in 1996), 'Dennis De Young' having left the ship in 1999 and guitarist 'John Curulewski' having died in 1988. Casually, their eponymous debut album by the group will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022 and all fans of the band must remember repeated listening to the legendary 'The Grand Illusion' released in 1977 which, for my part, wore out a lot of sapphires from my turntable at the time. And it is clear that this new album 'Crash Of The Crown' has a little nostalgic taste because we find all the know-how of this formation which was part of the groups which contributed to the rise of progressive rock in the 70s. with this talent for magnificent vocal arrangements.
From the begenning, with the short 'The Fight Of Our Lives', we go up in the time machine with a title filled with magnificent choirs and 'A Monster' continues on this path all traced with these atmospheres so characteristic of 'Styx' reminiscent of a much more carefree time than the one we live in now and how good it feels to hear those luminous keyboards and radiant vocal harmonies again. Follows 'Reveries' with its light melody which transports us again and whose changes of tempos bring a progressive side close to 'Kansas', then, 'Hold Back The Darkness' is a magnificent melodious ballad in a more atmospheric style and 'Save Us From Ourselves' is the kind of composition that could have made an interplanetary hit in the 70s with its energetic rhythm and addicting chorus. With the eponymous title of the album, we continue in this atmosphere of the seventies with many melodic and rhythmic variations taking us back to the beginning of 'Queen', with vocal harmonies to spin the goose bumps (listen to this magnificent final passage from 2.25), then, 'Our Wonderful Lives' is a new unifying and universal melodic gem which this time would have made a hit at the time of the 'Beatles' adding yet a little nostalgia raising the emotional cursor even further. We stay warm on the little cloud on which we had climbed in the previous titles with 'Common Ground' in which we feel 'Todd Sucherman' having ants in his hands by starting a drum solo as we had more often in a time when the shows were not millimeter with computers removing a good part of the spontaneity in the current concerts. And we continue with the semi-acoustic 'Sound The Alarm' which has nothing to envy to these predecessors, then, 'Long Live The King' then shows that 'Styx' is diversifying and that they also have this talent to merge 70s rock influences with much more modern sounds. Follows the very short 'Lost At Sea' which introduces 'Coming Out The Other Side' with a new melody that 'Crosby, Still, Nash & Young' would not have denied, then, 'To Those' continues to enchant us with resplendent new vocal harmonies, the album ending with a new comma 'Another Fareweel' introducing 'Stream' which, with regret, heralds the end of this beautiful journey with a new memorable melody.
In summary, as you will understand, the Americans of 'Styx' continue to enchant us with a sumptuous new studio recording which shows this legendary know-how which offer us very beautiful melodic lines and admirable harmonies vocals with a modern sound which makes 'Crash Of The Crown', in a way, a timeless album that will undoubtedly become a staple of the discography of this legendary group... | |
