The Mission (Styx album)

The Mission is the sixteenth studio album by the band Styx, released on June 16, 2017 through UMe.[3] It is the band's first studio album since 2005's Big Bang Theory and their first release of original material since 2003's Cyclorama. The album reached #45 on the Billboard 200, propelled by pre-sales prior to its official release date, but fell off the chart after 2 weeks. In an era with limited album sales, total U.S. Sales were approximately 15,000 copies, a far cry from the band's triple platinum past. Yet, the album did briefly reach the Top 100 in four other countries. The concept album tells the story of a mission to the planet Mars in the year 2033.[3] The album's story was written by Tommy Shaw and Will Evankovich. Evankovich played a significant role, serving as producer and co-writing all but 1 of the full length tracks.

The Mission
Studio album by
Styx
ReleasedJune 16, 2017 (2017-06-16)
Recorded2015-2017
StudioBlackbird Studios, The Shop, 6 Studio Amontillado, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreProgressive rock
Length42:00
LabelUMe
ProducerWill Evankovich
Styx chronology
Big Bang Theory
(2005)		 The Mission
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
TeamRock[2]

The album was conceived in 2015 when Tommy Shaw composed the guitar riff that became the record's closing track, "Mission to Mars." The first lines Shaw wrote were "Now we can say it / This is the day / We'll be on our way / On our mission to Mars." The story was then formed around this idea.

Styx announced the album in conjunction with the release of the lead single "Gone Gone Gone," while "Radio Silence" and "Hundred Million Miles from Home" were later made available prior to the album's release. The LP was expanded in 2018 and re-released in 5.1 surround sound (both DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD) on a blu-ray disc with visualizations for each song as well as a various music videos from the album and a "Making of the Mission" documentary.

Reception

The album was well received by Allmusic's Stephen Erlewine, awarding the release four out of five stars and considered it a return to form for the band. In his qualitative review, he emphasised the strength of the material harkening back to the band’s late 70s material and Paradise Theatre album, despite not having Dennis DeYoung as the band’s frontman.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocal(s)Length
1."Overture"Tommy ShawInstrumental1:23
2."Gone Gone Gone"
Gowan2:07
3."Hundred Million Miles from Home"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
Shaw3:39
4."Trouble at the Big Show"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
  • Young
Young2:30
5."Locomotive"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
Shaw5:03
6."Radio Silence"
Shaw4:17
7."The Greater Good"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
  • Gowan
  • Shaw
  • Gowan
4:10
8."Time May Bend"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
Gowan2:30
9."Ten Thousand Ways"
  • Shaw
  • Gowan
Group1:22
10."Red Storm"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
Shaw6:04
11."All Systems Stable"
Shaw0:17
12."Khedive"
  • Shaw
  • Gowan
Group2:04
13."The Outpost"
  • Shaw
  • Evankovich
  • Gowan
Gowan3:51
14."Mission to Mars"ShawShaw2:43
Total length:42:00

Personnel

Styx

Additional personnel
  • Will Evankovich – additional synthesizers, guitars, sound effects, production, engineering
Production
  • Alan Hertz – engineering
  • Sean Badum – engineering
  • JR Taylor – additional engineering
  • Jim Scott – mixing
  • Kevin Dean – assistant mixing engineer
  • Derek Sharp – additional editing
  • Richard Dudd – mastering
  • Todd Gallopo – cover illustration, art direction & design
  • Jason Powell – band photography

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[4] 56
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 49
Scottish Albums (OCC)[6] 98
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[7] 34
US Billboard 200[8] 45

References
  1. Styx - The Mission (2017) album review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic
  2. Styx - The Mission (2017) album review by Geoff Barton at TeamRock
  3. Graff, Gary (April 21, 2017). "Styx Flies to Mars with New Album The Mission: Exclusive Premiere of "Gone Gone Gone" Track". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  4. "Styx Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Styx – The Mission" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  6. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  7. "Swisscharts.com – Styx – The Mission". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  8. "Styx Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
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