Crash Of The Crown reviews

[ChicagoSTYX]

https://www.rep-am.com/life-arts/music/ ... xs-latest/

World events, inadvertently, ‘Crash…’ into Styx’s latest
BY MICHAEL CHAIKEN REPUBLICAN-AMERICANJuly 21, 2021046
The newest album, “Crash of the Crown,” from veteran rockers Styx sounds like it was written to reflect the past year and a half fighting COVID-19 and social unrest.

For example, on the song “A Monster,” the band that gave us “Too Much Time On Our Hands” and “Come Sail Away,” sings, “Kings in their castles look down/ At the people below/ They’re so disconnected/ How will he ever know?” It sounds as if the band is commenting on the events in Washington.
However, the contemporary air on the new album was a simple twist of fate, explained the band’s keyboardist Lawrence Gowan.
Gowan said the band — which plays in Bridgeport July 28 along with REO Speedwagon — didn’t intend to invoke the pandemic and the world of politics on “Crash of the Crown.” In fact, Gowan said, 90 percent of the album was written prior to the pandemic.
But even the members of Styx themselves (James Young, Tommy Shaw, Chuck Panozzo, Todd Sucherman, Ricky Phillips and Gowan) found it eerie how well in tune “Crash of the Crown” was to today’s headlines when they listened to it as COVID took hold of the world.
Styx is, from the left, Chuck Panozzo, Ricky Phillips, Todd Sucherman, Tommy Shaw, James “J.Y.” Young and Lawrence Gowan.
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Songs like “The Fight of Our Lives” (“This is our moment now/ This is the fight of our lives/ There’ll be no stopping us”) and “Sound the Alarm” (“Take shelter with the ones you love/ Maybe someday we can rise above/ And all be safe from harm”) seemed especially directed at world events in 2020.
The most metaphorical track was “Crash of the Crown,” Gowan said. “All you sinners/ All you saviors/ All you villains/ All you heroes/ Are you ready?/ Can’t you see what lies before us tomorrow?/ There’s no denying/ The truth will be the light/ Through the darkness tonight,” the band sings.
Essentially, Gowan said, the song is telling the listener, “You’re eventually going to accept, on your own terms, what the truth is offering to you.”
One of the most atypical songs on the album, especially due to the personal nature of the topic, is “Hold Back the Darkness.”
The lyrics go: “And I feel no pain/ Nothing can touch me, and I’m gonna win/ And I’m not holding back, not reining it in/ You hold back the darkness, and we’ll all see the sun rise again.”
“It relates to mental health,” Gowan said of “Turn Back the Darkness.”
The song talks about how “spiraling negativity can lead you into bad places. It’s not the taboo subject it once was … we all struggle.”
This was especially so during this past year, Gowan said.
But ultimately, he added, “People want to see you succeed.”
“Crash of the Crown” is the second album of new material from Styx in four years after many years of relying on its catalogue for its annual run of live shows.
Gowan said the opportunity to release new music is a result of how the recording industry is slowly evolving to reflect the changes in technology that, in turn, changed how people consume music.
When Gowan joined Styx 22 years ago, he said the group was on a cycle of releasing a new album and then playing 100 dates on the road to promote that album.
But things changed … and not for the better.
Four years into his tenure, Gowan said the band had released only one new album. And it didn’t look as if it was going to release another one any time soon. Touring became the band’s bread and butter and reason for being.
The music industry was floundering, Gowan said.
A solo artist prior to joining Styx, Gowan said when he signed with Columbia Records in the 1980s, the label owned a big chunk of real estate with a towering building of its own, filled with 1,000 employees.
In time, Gowan said Columbia was whittled down to a third floor in somebody else’s office building, employing only 100 workers.
The only way a band like Styx could connect to the fans was playing live shows, Gowan said. There was no other way to get new music to fans.
He said the group was frustrated because they had new ideas. They were recording new ideas. But they couldn’t figure out how to get those ideas into the ears of the public.
Around 2012, however, the situation began to change, Gowan said. Small labels and large labels started getting a hang of the new technology and learning how to use it to promote new music.
That’s when Universal Records approached the band about making new music again. That opened the door to the band recording its 2017 concept album, “The Mission.”
And the change in process has proven successful for Styx, Gowan said. “Crash of the Crown” soared to No. 1 on the Billboard rock charts.

[ChicagoSTYX]

https://im-musicmagazine.com/f/album-re ... le+Reviews

Crash Of The Crown (COTC) is a concept album that proves Styx is a band not afraid to take creative chances. While there might be a misstep here and there, the album succeeds in being a musical tour de force of creativity without losing their signature sound. From the album’s first track to the last, listeners will experience the essence of STYX while hearing refreshing new material.

The overall theme of COTC is the endless regenerative cycle of the rise and fall - and rise again - of our shared human experience. It’s clearly weaved throughout the entire album yet there’s enough room to insert your own take. Unlike other albums that force you to adhere to their theme and message, COTC draws you in by being flexible.

The album opens with "The Fight Of Our Lives," a classic rock anthem that any sports team could play before a match. It also sets the rhythm and tempo for the rest of the album. What’s impressive, and the album’s recurring feat, is the next track takes us in a completely different direction without a jarring effect.

"Reveries," the album’s third track, is a nice easy going song that seems to encompass its own title. Rhythmic, melodic, and a touch of A.D.D., "Reveries" pulls us back without losing any energy.

Our easy ride in "Reveries" takes a turn as "Hold Back The Darkness" opens with a rain falling on roof sound clip. I’m not usually a fan of sound effects in songs but, this actually works well as a transition. It leads in with the low vocals of Lawrence that then trades off to Tommy and his distinctive voice. This song gives me a feeling of someone going through a difficult time but they still have plenty of fight left in them.

"Save Us From Ourselves" builds on that feeling by starting out with a classic Winston Churchill quote. This song is interesting because it mixes a "Blue Collar Man" style riff with the theme of The Grand Illusion.

The titular track, "Crash Of The Crown" has JY, Tommy, and Lawrence each taking turns at lead vocals. It’s fun and it works. That being said, I think I would prefer each style to be its own full song. But, it says a lot that my main fault with this album is that it’s too short. I want more!

The next song, "Our Wonderful Lives," is an upbeat song where Tommy brings in his banjo that gives it a touch of Americano. While it has a sense that all is well, one can’t help but feel that the song acknowledges that we’re not in a perfect world. We’re then taken to a powerful intro with a mix of synth on "Common Ground" that ends and immediately picks up with Tommy on the acoustic. We’re then treated to one of STYX’s greatest strengths, their hamonic choruses. "Common Ground" carries us on in experiencing the album’s overall theme of rise, fall, and rise again.

We then hear a sound effect that faintly sounds like a grandfather clock and its internal gears. This sound helps set the tone of "Sound The Alarm" which melancholic sound touches on the bittersweet passage of time.

This is where the album abruptly changes gears with "Long Live the King." It sounds great and seems disconnected at first until you really take in the lyrics. I’m hesitant to share too much of my own interpretation of each song as it works best when you can come to your own meaning. But, "Long Live the King" is a strong follow up to "Sound the Alarm" when you look at it through the lens of the futility of continuing on long after the war is lost.

I like the sound of the 11th track, "Lost at Sea," but I’m not sure what this 38 second adds to the album. It may help as a transition to "Coming Out the Otherside" but I’m not sure I’m really getting that. Regardless, "Coming Out the Otherside" is a great laid back song that takes us back to “the rise.”

"To Those" continues on with a “The Who-esque” anthem that cheers on the survivors of whatever life throws at them. We then hear a 26 second suite that seems a little out of place. I’m not sure how it sets us up for the final track. Stream Is a nice rhythmic song that has a strong feeling of classic surfer music at the beginning. Halfway through, it picks up and we finish the album with a slow fade out that takes 30 seconds to bring everything to an end.

While I may not appreciate the 30 second transitional tracks, Crash of the Crown is a strong thematic album from one of the best bands in prog rock. The theme of rise, fall, and rise again is clear throughout the entire album. The songs build on each other and they shine brightest when you listen to Crash of the Crown straight through. STYX continues to be creative and innovating without departing from the style everyone knows them for.

I'm Music Magazine Photographer/Contributing Writer Keegan Divant

[ChicagoSTYX]

https://stargazed.net/reviews/styx-crash-of-the-crown/
9/10

After “only“ four years, almost to the day, Styx releases their follow-up to the excellent “The Mission” who in my opinion was their strongest release since “Pieces of Eight”. “Crash of the Crown” was preceded by a record store day only vinyl EP featuring two new tracks that didn’t make it to the album.

“Crash of the Crown” is the third album with only new music since the departure of Dennis DeYoung and once again Styx prove that they are just as good without him. They are actually better without him, if you compare this to the albums they released with Dennis after “Pieces of Eight”.

So how does “Crash of the Crown” hold up compared to “The Mission”? Well, in my humble opinion this is an even better album, though no songs are as good as my favorite track, “Red Storm”, from the last album. “Crash of the Crown” is quite short, only 43 minutes, which I like. That would have been a long album in the seventies but compared to most CD’s it’s short. The good thing with short albums is that you long for more music when it ends, contrary to the often to long CD’s. Even though the album is short there are still as many as 15 songs on “Crash of the Crown”.

One of the best things with this album as well as with “The Mission” is Lawrence Gowan’s use of vintage keyboards, which is an important part of the classic Styx sound. Unfortunately, the keyboards where a bit low in the mix on the last album, but that has thankfully been corrected, or at least bettered, on “Crash of the Crown”. Another great plus are the typical Styx vocal harmonies that are all over the album. The music is still pomp rock, but closer to prog than AOR. There are no obvious choices for a single, but I believe that my favorite track, “Long Live the King”, could be a hit if any classic rock radio station dared to play it.

Another thing that I like with this “new” Styx lineup are the rhythm section. I loved the Panozzo brothers, they were an important part of the original Styx style and sound, but Todd Sucherman and Ricky Phillips brings so much more with amazing drums and adventures bass lines to Styx and their new a bit progier direction. However, Chuck Panozzo plays some great bass on two tracks, “Our Wonderful Lives” and “Lost at Sea”. And yes, the vocals by Tommy Shaw, James Young and Lawrence Gowan are just as good as you would expect, not to mention their guitar and keyboard playing.

All fifteen songs on the album are great and If I should grade them, “Our Wonderful Lives” is the least great song, and “Long Live the King” is the greatest song. There are quite a few influences here and there, mainly Queen and Beatles, not to mention Pink Floyd on “Hold Back the Darkness”, but mostly it sounds like classic Styx with a natural new progression which gives the music a freshness instead of just trying to repeat past glories. This is also an album that works best if you listen to it from the beginning to the end, especially with (good) earphones.

Band: Styx
Title: Crash of the Crown
Label: Universal
Date of release: June 18, 2021
Time: 43 minutes
Rate: 9/10

[ChicagoSTYX]

https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2 ... the-crown/
Styx – Crash of the Crown

Article by: Alex Driessen

Styx has always been something of an outsider in rock music: successful as an AOR band with symphonic tendencies, producer of mainstream hits and ballads. Active since its foundation in 1972 and extremely successful in the mid-seventies, the fact that I could not find one single album review within TPA’s extensive library says enough about the hesitancy towards the Americans from Chicago. But the older the crazier, these guys are now somewhere in their seventies and, after a long break between 2005 and 2017, have released new material quite shortly after their last album, The Mission, which was well-received by both press and public. And the new stuff contains some real magic, especially in the context of our beloved genre.

Crash of the Crown is the seventeenth studio album by the legendary band. It’s not a real Covid-19 album; most of the music had already been written before the global epidemic did its devastating work. It is preceded by sophisticated marketing efforts, complete with interviews and the release of videos for both singles Reveries and Crash of the Crown. Fifteen relatively short songs, the total playing time is about 45 minutes, but Styx was never known for its long epics, with a few exceptions. In fact, on the new album Styx has attempted to copy the Beatles’ Abbey Road approach: pasting together short, standalone songs, without apparent cohesion. It worked out well in 1969 and still has maximum effect in 2021.

In the past, Styx has often shown a preference for anthems and hymns, which is also valid this time: The Fight of Our Lives, Save Us from Ourselves, Common Ground, Sound the Alarm, but also To Those contain a strong message. Yet the band itself says in a commentary that they steer clear of outspoken political opinions and limit themselves to what they are good at: writing and performing music. How ironic.

Opening track The Fight of Our Lives is a short rock song, the lyric “we will not give in” sets the tone. A Monster (chasing its tail) connects seamlessly, the vintage keyboard sound, powerful multi-part harmonies and Tommy Shaw’s recognisable solo vocals standing out. Excellent drumming also from Todd Sucherman, an absolute top-notch drummer. Reveries was already known as a single on YouTube, “where have I heard this before?” you subconsciously think. Keyboardist Lawrence Gowan sings about his musings in this fine but heavy pop song, easy to sing along too.

Hold Back the Darkness is very different from all previous tracks, Styx’ version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, both musically and lyrically (“I’m trying to break free from these chains, won’t you give me a break?”) and dark of nature. Further strengthened by Gowan’s voice, which seems eerily close to Roger Waters’. Excellent song, first highlight, partly due to the strong guitar solo at the end, unmistakably Styx. Save Us from Ourselves contains snippets of Winston Churchill’s famous speech (“We will never surrender!”). Tommy Shaw sings “One nation, indivisible” in another strong anthem with high sing-along factor, which will certainly do well live. I would have liked this to be a little longer than the three minutes it clocks in at.

All Styx vocalists have a share in the special and swinging title track Crash of the Crown, with its high Queen content. Just listen to the harmonies, Gowan does his best Freddie Mercury rendition and the guitar sound is heavily influenced by Brian May. Hopeful sounds emerge in the predominantly acoustic Our Wonderful Lives, somewhat reminiscent of Brian May’s 39 as the Queen connection continues, Beatle-esque trumpets completing the picture.

Clocking at exactly four minutes, Common Ground is the longest song on Crash of the Crown, a hymn with vocals shared by Shaw and Gowan. It’s a popular title these days, as used for Big Big Train’s new album. Once again utilising those recognisable old-skool keyboards, the song continues the theme of Our Wonderful Lives and builds on it. Tommy Shaw’s voice sounds hopeful in Sound the Alarm, are we going to make it as humanity? Most of the lyrics are written by Shaw, who seems reborn in that respect.

“The King is dead, and the world is set on fire, and we all scream, Long live the King”. Is this about the US Presidential elections? We’ll probably never know, but the urgency resonates, both musically and lyrically. Lost at Sea is an apparently insignificant little thing with vocals by Gowan. Oriental sounds and a wonderful chorus in Coming Out the Other Side reference Crowded House’s best material. Another strong pop song by Styx with a delicious slide guitar for dessert. To Those (who do survive) sounds like a brilliant battle song, with a mean guitar solo, but unfortunately comes to an end somewhat abruptly and way too soon. Another Farewell is just an ultra-short instrumental prelude to closing track Stream, which once again has fine slide guitar tune and makes a worthy and positive end to an excellent album. The production is brilliant, the sound clear and powerful.

The only criticism I have is the fact that the songs are on the short side, the longest barely reaching four minutes. Some songs undeniably have more potential, but Styx seemingly chooses to stick to their well-known concise format. However, maybe something to appreciate; unfortunately we often see meaningless expanded songs and double albums that would have sounded much better as a single. The (power) ballads do not return on more recent studio material from Styx, one of the biggest differences with the past.

Crash of the Crown is characterised by the fact that there are almost no weak songs. That’s something I’ve come to experience differently from Styx in the past. This album can easily withstand criticism, both musically and lyrically, and in my opinion fits in nicely with classics like Paradise Theater, Cornerstone, Pieces of Eight and The Grand Illusion. A greater compliment is hardly conceivable.

[ChicagoSTYX]

http://cuatower.com/2021/09/a-deeper-lo ... the-crown/

A Deeper Look at Crash of the Crown
By Emily Thomas

It is clear to everyone living in America today that the country is deeply divided. The political and social justice issues taking place over the past year have contributed to a deep polarization of society. Styx addresses this tension in their latest album, Crash of the Crown, while offering a hopeful glance at the future.

The album opens with “The Fight of Our Lives”, my personal new favorite song. Rather than living in the past or allowing another person to smother one’s flame, listeners are encouraged to “keep moving forward” and to knock down obstacles along the way. We all have a purpose in this century to work for justice and to persevere to the end.

The songs “A Monster” and “Common Ground” allow listeners to reflect on the ways that they have failed to promote unity through their words and deeds. “A Monster” addresses the consequences of our actions and the responsibility we must take for our decisions, while “Common Ground” points out the common self-centered behavior of young people in which it is difficult to empathize with others and appreciate their perspective. The song concludes with a powerful message about strength in unity.

Although the album addresses difficult topics and questions whether unity can ever be achieved, Styx promotes an optimistic future. Despite the initial somber tone in “Sound the Alarm”, the song calls the audience to embrace the present moment while looking ahead with joyful expectation. Life presents difficult challenges and suffering, yet “A new way is calling / Hope is alive.”

“To Those” promotes hope in humanity as the upbeat tone encourages listeners to pursue their goals. Through the dark times, remember to “Find beauty in your lives / don’t be afraid of love / stand up and rise above.” This particular line speaks to me as it addresses the poverty of beauty and true love in the world today.

Due to the somber news that is always flooding our inboxes and social media pages, society has lost its appreciation for the beautiful. This line also sends an important message that we can “rise above” the stereotypical “cancel culture” by coming to understand why a person believes what they do.

Not only is Crash of the Crown beautiful for its theatrical elements iconic to Styx, but also for its message. Through the allusions to personal and societal conflicts, the audience is reminded of the fragile yet achievable nature of peace and harmony.

There are many thought-provoking rhetorical questions dispersed throughout the songs, ones that we often ask ourselves throughout our lives. This album, though clearly reminiscent of America in 2020, can be applied to various situations in our lifetimes.

No matter your political affiliation, everyone should listen to Crash of the Crown in its entirety and take some time to reflect on recent history in the United States while considering ways that you can live out Styx’s message of unity.

Persevering in the pursuit of truth may be painful at times, but the end result will be extremely rewarding.