New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Classic and Progressive Rock

Styx: Crash of the Crown Review

Styx Crash of the CrownClassic rock/pomp/prog veterans Styx hit us with a new album – Crash of the Crown – some four years after the excellent The Mission.

Crash of the Crown is indeed unmistakably an instantly recognisable as Styx with plenty of the hallmark sounds and style still there.

A bit of pomp, a bit of prog, a bit of rock, lots of the trademark harmonies etc. And it’s quite compact too this time with fifteen tracks squeezed in to a little shy of forty five minutes.

Tommy Shaw has a major hand in all song writing with the absence of a James Young heavied up rocker is notable.

Whilst The musicianship and overall performance can’t be faulted, a general feel of a more lightweight style overall does make me miss the “JY” influence. There are some nice chunky guitars and some nifty soloing however it doesn’t break out like it used to. Feels like they are holding back a bit. Somewhat restrained.

The Fight of our Lives is an OK opener. A Monster progs it up like Styx are so adept at. Reveries is pleasant enough as are Hold Back the Darkness and Save us from Ourselves.

The title track is perhaps the first (in my opinion) “proper” Styx song. It has some welcome bite to it, is pretty heavy and has those prog element injections too. Quite a lot pack in to a shortish song. Have a listen.

The rest of the album is an enjoyable listen often threatening to break out though perhaps arguably handicapped by the restraints of the short running time afforded by fifteen tracks over three quarters of an hour.  An average of around three minutes per song – though a few are much shorter than that.

Long Live the King and To Those are nice chunky rockers with some edge to them. Whereas stuff such as Lost at Sea and Stream I think are somewhat lightweight.

Whilst Crash of the Crown is undeniably a good album from Tommy Shaw and the boys and I do like it, overall to my ears it does sound a bit like the brakes are half on and is not as adventurous or expansive as The Mission was.

>> STYX CRASH OF THE CROWN ON AMAZON <<

With, coincidentally, ex-member Dennis De Young’s latest 26 East Vol 2. issued just a few days prior to the release of Crash of the Crown it’s impossible not to compare. Personally I prefer that to Crash of the Crown.