My Review...

[brywool]

First Listen:

Overall opinion (keep in mind this is the first spin):

This is a great album and SUPER ambitious for Styx. They get high marks for that. While I don't think it's the second coming of "the big two", there are definitely points that do hit that lofty goal.

One bitch: the Production to me is super dry throughout and that's not a quality that I dig with my STYX stuff. It NEEDS that reverb/delay to help give it that "STYX SOUND". My opinion, but I grew up (and old) with the band. If this came out in the 90s, I'd get why they dried things out so much, but STYX isn't a grungy band. For me, Cyclorama's production was more 'lush'. One other comparison to Cyclorama - I'm finding that Gowan's tracks are the standouts.

I caught the interview with Tommy the other day about how he explains the characters that each bend member is playing- Tommy as the pilot, Lawrence as the first officer, JY as the naysayer, the others as scientists or something like that (I forget), so I do get that these are 'character pieces' which is an ok idea, just as ok as it was on 'Kilroy Was Here'. BUT - I knew the concept of KWH, so it made sense. To those that didn't know, it was "What the heck is THIS??" Not sure that'll happen with 'The Mission', but it could.
Keep in mind, I'm listening online as I don't have the CD (with the book, etc.) in my hand... will have it later tonight.

Overture:
This is a cool way to open the album and super proggy for Styx, which is great. As a piece of music, I like it. The one thing that immediately strikes me is how DRY the production is. I would think for an 'Overture' that it'd have a 'Bigness' to it that could've been brought to the track via a bit of delay and reverb.

Gone Gone Gone:
Great track. Gowan sings the crap out of it. Nice to hear Styx kicking into high gear and nice to hear JY and Tommy's guitars just going for it. Radio seems so void of guitars that I find myself going through withdrawal symptoms...
Again, I'm struck by how dry the track sounds. It's STYX so I expect a bit more production.

Hundred Million Miles:
Pretty stripped down and straight ahead rock track. The highest harmony here is a bit overkill (and I'm a sucker for good harmonies). They've got some chorus on Tommy's voice, but again, super dry. Some of the harmonies seem like they don't cut off at the same time. As a song, it's got a good vocal hook in the chorus.

Trouble at the Big Show:
I think this one is from the Dr. Righteous Outtake Reel (and I actually like Heavy Metal Poisoning and that character too). JY... sometimes I love him to death and sometimes I find him annoying as hell. When I don't like him, it's usually vocal related. JY is a great harmony singer. If you want to see how much he brings to the party, listen to his solo album "City Slicker" and listen to the harmonies on it. His harmony singing is a HUGE part of the Styx sound and is a necessary component. But man, when he does his lower "Double Life" voice, I find it completely and utterly ... not my thing. I'd rather have a "Captain America" or "These Are the Times". This one's a wah-covered, bluesy track with some cool harmonies and a good guitar solo. But I can't get past JY's lead vocal and am thankful that there's only one JY-led track here.
Again, the production on the vocals drives me nuts. It's dry but it's also wrapped in chorus, which I don't dig and was one of the reasons that I HATED the Regeneration albums.
So far, this is a track that I will be skipping with repeated plays. It might grow on me. Sorry JY!

Locomotive:
Beginning is a bit like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Okay... NOW it sounds like STYX to me, at least the beginning. The production is so much better here. The vocals aren't layered in chorus and there's a nice reverb on Tommy's vocal that brings it out. Tommy's voice... man, he's got such great pipes. Some cool bass parts from Ricky Phillips here too. Great harmonies in it that are reminiscent of the "Papa Papa's" in "This Old Man". I like this track. I don't know how 'catchy' or 'STYX' it is. It seems that STYX is not going for 'mass appeal' on this track but just for music to fit their concept. When the band kicks in, again, all of the production seems to be rolled off and everything is super dry again. Just gives it a home-demo quality.

Radio Silence:
Yup... 'Man in the Wilderness II'. The bass line, acoustic, and keyboards at the beginning are SO similar... even the guitar break in the middle is similar. The verses are totally evocative of the image of being a solo guy in a space ship so far away from the planet. Great chorus here and very 'STYX' to me. When listening to it in the context of the album, it's definitely a standout.

The Greater Good:
Oh man, I love Gowan on this track. He puts in a brilliant vocal here. The chorus is a bit flat for me and not 'Styx Big' but it's not really that kind of track.The verses are superb. It's such a 'Gowan track'. The track is actually a duet between Larry and Tommy and it comes off brilliantly - a back and forth conversation between their characters. A bit of 'Queen' creeps in, which, again, is so 'Gowan'. So far, this is my favorite track. Those that give Gowan a hard time for not being DeYoung- it's a ridiculous statement. He's so worthy of his position in the band. He brings a LOT to the party.

Time May Bend:
Another Gowan lead vocal and a good one. A proggy beginning that jumps into main track. The harmonies are a bit loud in the mix and, of course, dry. The guitar solo is great. Is that an Ebo?

Ten Thousand Ways:
This is a little segue with great harmonies.

Red Storm:
I dig the radio messages that they've sprinkled into this album. Helps to set the mood of the concept. Tommy on acoustic guitar here (noticing lots of acoustic on this album- cool!). Another very proggy track and reminiscent of the middle of "A Day" from 'Styx II' just in its feel once it gets going. This is typical EARLY Styx. Starts slow, gets fast, good chorus. Good track. The guitar solo section is very much like Rush from the 'Hemispheres' days (which is a favorite Rush album of mine). This is a super ambitious track for Styx. Kind of like this album's "One With Everything".

All Systems Stable:
A segue. Not really a song.

Khedive:
Again, Gowan shining with this piano piece that also has acoustic guitar and strings and some harmonies that intrude a bit (my opinion). Nice Brian Mayish solo. COMPLETE Queen. This guy is such a good player.

The Outpost:
Another Gowan-led track. This one's a great one too! The beginning reminds me of 'Camera Eye' (another Rush track). HUGE chorus. I actually got chills when that kicked in. Very 'YES-ish' chorus. This is a great track. Very big sounding and so 70s. It's a total high point. This should be a single. It's very cool and very very catchy. This is one of those songs that actually meets the hype "This is definitely as good as any Pieces of Eight or Grand Illusion track".

Mission to Mars:
Piano based track and again with a heavy prog influence. This doesn't sound like Styx to me, it's (again) like early Yes or even Crosby Stills and Nash in some points. It's like all of this stuff has been tossed into the pot and stirred up. It's way cool and SOOOO different for Styx.

I give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Still on the fence about picking this up today. Appreciate the review.

[RumTumJM]

First Listen:

Overall opinion (keep in mind this is the first spin):

This is a great album and SUPER ambitious for Styx. They get high marks for that. While I don't think it's the second coming of "the big two", there are definitely points that do hit that lofty goal.

One bitch: the Production to me is super dry throughout and that's not a quality that I dig with my STYX stuff. It NEEDS that reverb/delay to help give it that "STYX SOUND". My opinion, but I grew up (and old) with the band. If this came out in the 90s, I'd get why they dried things out so much, but STYX isn't a grungy band. For me, Cyclorama's production was more 'lush'. One other comparison to Cyclorama - I'm finding that Gowan's tracks are the standouts.

I caught the interview with Tommy the other day about how he explains the characters that each bend member is playing- Tommy as the pilot, Lawrence as the first officer, JY as the naysayer, the others as scientists or something like that (I forget), so I do get that these are 'character pieces' which is an ok idea, just as ok as it was on 'Kilroy Was Here'. BUT - I knew the concept of KWH, so it made sense. To those that didn't know, it was "What the heck is THIS??" Not sure that'll happen with 'The Mission', but it could.
Keep in mind, I'm listening online as I don't have the CD (with the book, etc.) in my hand... will have it later tonight.

Overture:
This is a cool way to open the album and super proggy for Styx, which is great. As a piece of music, I like it. The one thing that immediately strikes me is how DRY the production is. I would think for an 'Overture' that it'd have a 'Bigness' to it that could've been brought to the track via a bit of delay and reverb.

Gone Gone Gone:
Great track. Gowan sings the crap out of it. Nice to hear Styx kicking into high gear and nice to hear JY and Tommy's guitars just going for it. Radio seems so void of guitars that I find myself going through withdrawal symptoms...
Again, I'm struck by how dry the track sounds. It's STYX so I expect a bit more production.

Hundred Million Miles:
Pretty stripped down and straight ahead rock track. Again, the highest harmony here is a bit overkill (and I'm a sucker for good harmonies). They've got some chorus on Tommy's voice, but again, super dry. Some of the harmonies seem like they don't cut off at the same time. As a song, it's got a good vocal hook in the chorus.

Trouble at the Big Show:
I think this one is from the Dr. Righteous Outtake Reel (and I actually like Heavy Metal Poisoning and that character too). JY... sometimes I love him to death and sometimes I find him annoying as hell. When I don't like him, it's usually vocal related. JY is a great harmony singer. If you want to see how much he brings to the party, listen to his solo album "City Slicker" and listen to the harmonies on it. His harmony singing is a HUGE part of the Styx sound and is a necessary component. But man, when he does his lower "Double Life" voice, I find it completley and utterly dopey. I'd rather have a "Captain America" or "These Are the Times". This one's a wah-covered, bluesy track with some cool harmonies and a good guitar solo. But I can't get past JY's lead vocal and am thankful that there's only one JY-led track here.
Again, the production on the vocals drives me nuts. It's dry but it's also wrapped in chorus, which I don't dig and was one of the reasons that I HATED the Regeneration albums.
So far, this is a track that I will be skipping with repeated plays. It might grow on me.

Locomotive:
Beginning is a bit like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Okay... NOW it sounds like STYX to me, at least the beginning. The production is so much better here. The vocals aren't layered in chorus and there's a nice reverb on Tommy's vocal that brings it out. Tommy's voice... man, he's got such great pipes. Some cool bass parts from Ricky Phillips here too. Great harmonies in it that are reminiscent of the "Papa Papa's" in "This Old Man". I like this track. I don't know how 'catchy' or 'STYX' it is. It seems that STYX is not going for 'mass appeal' on this track but just for music to fit their concept. When the band kicks in, again, all of the production seems to be rolled off and everything is super dry again. Just gives it a home-demo quality.

Radio Silence:
Yup... 'Man in the Wilderness II'. The bass line, acoustic, and keyboards at the beginning are SO similar... even the guitar break in the middle is similar. The verses are totally evocative of the image of being a solo guy in a space ship so far away from the planet. Great chorus here and very 'STYX' to me. When listening to it in the context of the album, it's definitely a standout.

The Greater Good:
Oh man, I love Gowan on this track. He puts in a brilliant vocal here. The chorus is a bit flat for me and not 'Styx Big' but it's not really that kind of track.The verses are superb. It's such a 'Gowan track'. The track is actually a duet between Larry and Tommy and it comes off brilliantly - a back and forth conversation between their characters. A bit of 'Queen' creeps in, which, again, is so 'Gowan'. So far, this is my favorite track. Those that give Gowan a hard time for not being DeYoung- it's a ridiculous statement. He's so worthy of his position in the band. He brings a LOT to the party.

Time May Bend:
Another Gowan lead vocal and a good one. A proggy beginning that jumps into main track. The harmonies are a bit loud in the mix and, of course, dry. The guitar solo is great. Is that an Ebo?

Ten Thousand Ways:
This is a little segue with great harmonies.

Red Storm:
I dig the radio messages that they've sprinkled into this album. Helps to set the mood of the concept. Tommy on acoustic guitar here (noticing lots of acoustic on this album- cool!). Another very proggy track and reminiscent of the middle of "A Day" from 'Styx II' just in its feel once it gets going. This is typical EARLY Styx. Starts slow, gets fast, good chorus. Good track. The guitar solo section is very much like Rush from the 'Hemispheres' days (which is a favorite Rush album of mine). This is a super ambitious track for Styx. Kind of like this album's "One With Everything".

All Systems Stable:
A segue. Not really a song.

Khedive:
Again, Gowan shining with this piano piece that also has acoustic guitar and strings and some harmonies that intrude a bit (my opinion). Nice Brian Mayish solo. COMPLETE Queen. This guy is such a good player.

The Outpost:
Another Gowan-led track. This one's a great one too! The beginning reminds me of 'Camera Eye' (another Rush track). HUGE chorus. I actually got chills when that kicked in. Very 'YES-ish' chorus. This is a great track. Very big sounding and so 70s. It's a total high point. This should be a single. It's very cool and very very catchy. This is one of those songs that actually meets the hype "This is definitely as good as any Pieces of Eight or Grand Illusion track".

Mission to Mars:
Piano based track and again with a heavy prog influence. This doesn't sound like Styx to me, it's (again) like early Yes or even Crosby Stills and Nash in some points. It's like all of this stuff has been tossed into the pot and stirred up. It's way cool and SOOOO different for Styx.

I give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Interesting take on the album. Some of your particular points, I noticed myself, prior to reading this (the harmonies not totally matching up on Hundred Miles, the lacking chorus on Greater Good, exceptionalism of The Outpost.) Overall, though, I can tell that this is a grower!

[brywool]

Still on the fence about picking this up today. Appreciate the review.

It's on Youtube. U can listen to all of it.
Which I NEVER understand. Why does the band do that? Basically encourages peeps copying it.

[brywool]

Interesting take on the album. Some of your particular points, I noticed myself, prior to reading this (the harmonies not totally matching up on Hundred Miles, the lacking chorus on Greater Good, exceptionalism of The Outpost.) Overall, though, I can tell that this is a grower!

Yeah, it IS a grower. I actually had that in the review and pulled it out. Some songs are IMMEDIATELY awesome. Some have grown on me. For those that bitch so much about Gowan, man, he's brilliant on this album.

[RumTumJM]

Boy do I wish Trouble At The Big Show and, especially, Time May Bend were longer and more developed. That, and I wish Greater Good had a slightly stronger chorus.

Overall though, a return to form for the band. I'm thinking it would be cool if they played some of this stuff in a medley type form. Maybe Khedive right into The Outpost.

[brywool]

Boy do I wish Trouble At The Big Show and, especially, Time May Bend were longer and more developed. That, and I wish Greater Good had a slightly stronger chorus.

Overall though, a return to form for the band. I'm thinking it would be cool if they played some of this stuff in a medley type form. Maybe Khedive right into The Outpost.

Yeah, Outpost is such a great one. "Big Show" I can't get into whatsoever.

[FormerDJMike]

Thanks for posting Bry, I would give an in depth review too but just don't have the time. So far I like it a lot and am pleased with it. Interestingly, I like the production on this better than Cyclorama. I thought some of Cyclorama had buried vocals and sounded thin. But there are also those that hate Kevin Shirley's production on Maiden and I love his Maiden work.

I agree on Hemispheres. I heard that too! I was hoping something more from JY in the vain of Midnight Ride and his track is ok. I like the chorus but it is more of a blues song than a rock song.

Will get repeated listens. The clear vinyl should be at home by the time I leave work today. Looking forward to playing the record and looking over the notes and pics.

[brywool]

Thanks for posting Bry, I would give an in depth review too but just don't have the time. So far I like it a lot and am pleased with it. Interestingly, I like the production on this better than Cyclorama. I thought some of Cyclorama had buried vocals and sounded thin. But there are also those that hate Kevin Shirley's production on Maiden and I love his Maiden work.

I agree on Hemispheres. I heard that too! I was hoping something more from JY in the vain of Midnight Ride and his track is ok. I like the chorus but it is more of a blues song than a rock song.

Will get repeated listens. The clear vinyl should be at home by the time I leave work today. Looking forward to playing the record and looking over the notes and pics.

Yeah, I've listened to it about 5 times now (just online. At work and haven't seen the packaging yet). Yeah, I thought Cyclo had a big sound to it. Some songs on here sound demo-ey to me, BUT after repeated listens, I'm used to it now and it's not such a big deal. When that production comes in, it's totally noticeable and I just wish they'd done that throughout. It's like no other Styx record that I've heard. You can really tell that Gowan did not have the same keyboard influences as Dennis. You can tell he leaned much more to the 'prog' side than Dennis did. That's not a slam on either. I enjoy what both bring to Styx. Love em both but when Gowan's not playing Dennis' parts, you get to tell what he's really like as a player and he's a great player. Some of these songs sound like they could've started Gowan solo tracks, but then Styx dressed them up. The other thing regarding Cyclo- I lean more towards a poppier vibe than a progressive one so I found Cyclo just to be more accessible and catchy. I played the absolute shit out of that album. The Mission is much more... Hemispheres than it is Paradise Theatre. But we've already got a Paradise Theatre from Styx so that's ok. Sorry but I'm not one of those that goes to a Journey concert to hear "Loving Touching Squeezing". I want to hear NEW STUFF from my favorite bands. This fits the bill nicely.

[FormerDJMike]

Playing The Outpost now on earbuds and I like it a lot. I don't feel Camera Eye here, I feel The Motels. The percussion on the intro kind of reminds me of "Suddlenly, Last Summer". And that's not a bad thing, I like The Motels haha.

[brywool]

Playing The Outpost now on earbuds and I like it a lot. I don't feel Camera Eye here, I feel The Motels. The percussion on the intro kind of reminds me of "Suddlenly, Last Summer". And that's not a bad thing, I like The Motels haha.

that keyboard sound is right off of Camera Eye- swear to God.

[gr8dane]

Heard it twice now,but on the computer.
There is hell of a lot to like here.Can't wait to hear it on the system.

[masque]

Bry after that review there is no need for me to do a review because I agree with about 95% of what you said. overall, I am very happy with what i am hearing and because it involves a band i love so much I know I need to give it time to make sure I dont overreact to what I am hearing in over praising or under praising because of my pre-conceived expectations.

[yogi]

Just got home. I listened to the album twice from start to finish, plus an added two more times of my favorite 3 songs in a row ( Locomotive,Radio Silence & The Greater Good). Love the beginning of the Overture leading into Gone Gone Gone, and love how the album finishes from Khedive, to The Outpost to Mission To Mars.

Overall I LOVE the album. It flows perfectly. They truly outdid themselves and I hope that the management team of Styx encourages the band to play this album from start to finish once they come off their current festival tour. When the band is alone and plays the smaller venues they could easily play this album in Act 1 with a scaled down greatest hits in Act 2.

The album is brilliant. The songs stand alone and as stated earlier the album flows PERFECTLY.

PS - Walking into the kitchen I was surprised to find my album had arrived with a Mission card autographed by the band.

First Rate album by my ALL time favorite band

[brywool]

Bry after that review there is no need for me to do a review because I agree with about 95% of what you said. overall, I am very happy with what i am hearing and because it involves a band i love so much I know I need to give it time to make sure I dont overreact to what I am hearing in over praising or under praising because of my pre-conceived expectations.

'overreact' for sure, point taken. It was a "first listen" review. The non production no longer annoys me so much. The one track though is just not my bag. This after about 8 listens.

[ChicagoSTYX]

Side 2 of the album is the best side 2 of any past Styx album!

[yogi]

EQUINOX, Pieces of Eight and The Grand Illusion were all pretty DAMN GREAT!!!!

high High HIGH praise!!!!!!!!!!!!

[brywool]

Wow, joke's on me. I thought a lot of this was written by Gowan, but as I look at the liner notes, so much is from Shaw, my mistake. Kind of surprised as the writing is much different for him and a lot more Gowanesque. Unlike 'Cyclo' the band does not share all the writing credits. I thought that was a cool touch before. I read the 'concept' now that I've got the package. It's... 'ok'. I actually like the concept behind Kilroy a bit better - just seemed more thematic.

I'm not sure why they stuck 'Mission to Mars' at the end. Shoulda been near the beginning. I thought that today while listening at work too, but now that I read the liner notes, they definitely should've put it near the top. If I were to create a 'mix tape' of it, I'd swap that out for 'Big Show'. Turns out "Locomotive" is the Tommy Shaw character's nickname. Eh, that's kind of a stretch there.
I still wonder how accessible this'll be to people. For me, 'The Outpost' is the standout track of the entire album. Just big sounding and it rocks and a huge catchy chorus. So much of the album is contemplative and slower and to me, lacks the 'catchy' factor that will get into people's heads and stick there. Being 'catchy' is not the hallmark of good music. This album's got some GREAT stuff on it, I just hope that the non-Styx diehards have an open mind about it.

Are u guys finding all the 'easter eggs' that Tommy mentioned? Not much to me, but unfortunately, the tiny CD cover doesn't lend itself to much searching.

Now... to try out the new Cheap Trick.

[FormerDJMike]

No vinyl yet my wife hid it til Father's day. Can't wait to look for the hidden photos/Easter eggs. Someone told me the vinyl has "welcome to 1979" in the dead wax. Pretty cool.

I think I agree w you Bryan, The Outpost is prob my favorite but I also really enjoy 10,000 ways. And when you listen to it as a whole it flows very well that you really don't notice the tracks are short.

So I'll spin the record on Sunday day while reading along with the notes. Will be like the old days. The last record I spun as a new release was Edge and after that vinyl LP's kind of died. So glad they are back.

[brywool]

No vinyl yet my wife hid it til Father's day.

THAT B*TCH?!?!


(just kidding, I'm the last guy that'd actually say that about a woman)

Can't wait to look for the hidden photos/Easter eggs. Someone told me the vinyl has "welcome to 1979" in the dead wax. Pretty cool.

That IS cool!

The Outpost is prob my favorite but I also really enjoy 10,000 ways. And when you listen to it as a whole it flows very well that you really don't notice the tracks are short.

Yeah that seems like one song. I like the production on that quite a bit. That one caught my wife's attention too.

[S2M]

I've listened to it 9 times already, so I can't be accused of selling it short. But that's exactly what I'm going to do anyway.

Cyclorama puts this to shame, sorry. There is nothing remotely decent on this release. The song structures are entirely too bland, stagnant, and go absolutely nowhere. Take off the vocal tracks, and this is a GREAT album....that's about all I can say about this release. And I REALLY wanted to like it.

[S2M]

I've listened to it 9 times already, so I can't be accused of selling it short. But that's exactly what I'm going to do anyway.

Cyclorama puts this to shame, sorry. There is nothing remotely decent on this release. The song structures are entirely too bland, stagnant, and go absolutely nowhere. Take off the vocal tracks, and this is a GREAT album....that's about all I can say about this release. And I REALLY wanted to like it.

You have too much time on your hands!

Fuck you, you Bourgeois Pig!!!

[ChicagoSTYX]

Hope to get the vinyl today.

[brywool]

Ok, I'm not gonna say I don't like it, (after 1 spin), I do like the music and sounds I hear, however....

I think as a "STYX Album" that Cyclorama is the more accessible of the two. It's more catchy. More 'hit radio' sounding. With The Mission, I think you have to view it a it differently...
Kind of like what you said about The Beatles. You had 'Rubber Soul" then "Revolver" - each song could've been a single. Then "Sgt. Pepper" came out. There really wasn't a 'single' on that album (hence Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields). I think "The Mission" is a similar thing (though, at it's best, Pepper was barely a concept album and The Beatles'd be the first ones to say that). It kind of needs to be taken as a whole.

I've listened to the album about 15 times now. I find something new to like each time I hear it. I'm enjoying it for music's sake as opposed to "I don't hear a single". I think it's a really good accomplishment. It would've been nice to have one more heavy rocker on it, but I'm okay with it as it stands. "Everything All the Time" would've fit nicely on this album with re-recorded symphonic parts. ("There's a crack in the universe...")

[Hustler]

I usually spend my time on the noticeboard, and thought I'd pop over to the forum to post a comment - but IMO you are 100% spot on with everything about this album (both accolades and minor criticisms) in your review and commentary, so thanks- nodding in agreement is a lot less work than re-typing what you've already said- lol!

Ok, I'm not gonna say I don't like it, (after 1 spin), I do like the music and sounds I hear, however....

I think as a "STYX Album" that Cyclorama is the more accessible of the two. It's more catchy. More 'hit radio' sounding. With The Mission, I think you have to view it a it differently...
Kind of like what you said about The Beatles. You had 'Rubber Soul" then "Revolver" - each song could've been a single. Then "Sgt. Pepper" came out. There really wasn't a 'single' on that album (hence Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields). I think "The Mission" is a similar thing (though, at it's best, Pepper was barely a concept album and The Beatles'd be the first ones to say that). It kind of needs to be taken as a whole.

I've listened to the album about 15 times now. I find something new to like each time I hear it. I'm enjoying it for music's sake as opposed to "I don't hear a single". I think it's a really good accomplishment. It would've been nice to have one more heavy rocker on it, but I'm okay with it as it stands. "Everything All the Time" would've fit nicely on this album with re-recorded symphonic parts. ("There's a crack in the universe...")

[Abitaman]

After my first listen today, I like the music, but the some of the lyrics are ok. Production is not the best in spots, I think if it hinted more toward the Paradise, Corner, PO8 or GI, even LITR, it would sound better

[ChicagoSTYX]

Side 2 of the album is the best side 2 of any past Styx album!

I like your enthusiasm but no, it's not. It is and will always be side 2 of Equinox.

Side 2 of Equinox is great, as is GI and POE. There is just more to listen to on The Mission and its all good. Equinox really only has 3 songs on side 2. Cyclorama and Brave New World didn't have an official side 2 as far as I know.

[birdynumnum]

I know I don't post frequently but since this is as subject worth commenting about, I guess I will. On first listen I found this album a little bland, and there was nothing compelling me to listen again, but I did. I think I liked it a little better the second time so maybe I need to listen more, but still feel that nothing grabs me. I'm also not a fan of such a literal concept album such as this or Kilroy, prefer more oblique themes such as GI, POE and PT where the songs and lyrics stand on their own.

The one thing that bothers me the most though is that with Cyclorama and this album it seems Styx has somewhat lost their way and forgotten who they are. It's great that they are embracing Prog Rock again, but they seem to be embracing Yes, Queen, ELP and Pink Floyd more than Styx. At least with Cyclo they still had some good Styx moments, TATT IMO being one of the best songs to come along since the PT album. I don't find that here at all. They really sound like a band trying to sound like early ELP, Yes and Queen. Why?

[ztyxlynne]

Okay I've been holding off saying anything about this album for a while. When I heard that they were going to do a concept album about going to Mars and then they were going to have an outside producer and writer something that Styx really never had before. I had a DDY moment. Tommy it's time to change the bong water.

I listen to the album several times and I love it it is one of the strongest ones they've made in a long time and I'm also putting it away above Cyclorama. 100 million miles from home and Radio Silence so far my favorites. I love the production on his album and how everything seems to flow together. Yes they took their time and it shows and I'm so glad they're getting excellent reviews.

I really hope they get on a roll now and we don't have to wait another 2 years or heaven forbid 13 like we did with the last album. This definitely shows that they can put together one of the strongest albums they've made. It definitely sounds like classic Styx

[FormerDJMike]

Sounds awesome on vinyl! Cranked it up twice today! And the "dead wax" area says "Welcome to 1979".