Apple iTunes pre-orders for STYX' new release, The Mission, were filled a couple of days ago.
I've got some thoughts.
Old and New
Another concept album, this tells the story of a mission to Mars. But the space mission is
but one story being told.
The entire album is all about the confluence of old and new — it's a theme running through
both the visual and musical art.
The cover gives one a sense of looking through a porthole on a ship in space; the porthole is
at the center of the image and appears bolted to an iron-reinforced surface. Metal and wires
are visible around the porthole.
The band's logo appears at center. The new logo is a blend of the classic, angular STYX logo
with some modern design touches, like severing the base of the "t" and changing the tail of the "y";
the top half of the "x" is no longer distinct from the bottom half of the character.
What's more, take a closer look at the technology surrounding the porthole. There's an elongated
silver metal piece there that is unique to the right side. Those of us old enough to have listened
to STYX on vinyl might recognize that as an arm of a record player. If you consider the entire
image in that context, it's not hard to see the porthole as a platter, and the entire composition
makes the argument for old and new.
(P.S. - for good measure, notice the coin floating at lower left — it doesn't make much sense
in the context of a spacecraft, but you can be damn sure that anybody who recognized the record
player knows what that coin is for.
Now let's look at how some of the music communicates the theme.
"Overture"
I love what they did with the initial track, "Overture": It announces very clearly
that this is STYX — the STYX you remember from 40 years ago — through two significant devices:
using distinct keyboard sounds that mainstay keyboard sound that were such a huge part of what
made them arena rock legends in the late 70's (0:02 to 0:05, and 0:22 to 0:47) and those heavy
electric guitar chords (between 1:05 and 1:09), which speak directly to me of The Grand
Illusion — this is GOLD. But the percussion and bass that Todd and Ricky bring are distinctly
different — giving us a great blend of classic STYX with a new, edgier sound: old and new.
"Locomotive"
Perhaps no track speaks more directly to old and new than "Locomotive." The most obvious
indicator here is the lyrics (transcription mine):
Locomotive tell me where you are
Now that you've become the distant star
Did you lose your faith where you belonged?
Did you hide from those who you did love?
Have you read the messages I've tried to send?
Will you ever come back home again?
Castles by the sea you made from sand
Hovercrafts and drones you built by hand
Forever fearless, asking why and how
Locomotive just look at you now
No one else on earth has ever been so far
Locomotive tell me where you are
And when that road calls your name
It doesn't matter what's to gain
It's in your blood
Staring up into the starry night
Why that must surely be your light
Locomotive, you're fading into the rising sun
And who am I to say that you're the lucky one?
This song seems all about the difference technology has made in our lives --
and questions whether progress for progress' sake is necessarily beneficial.
Perhaps for STYX it was about the examination of whether the media reality
of 2017 really make sense for the band who shot through the stars 40 years
ago. Could "Locomotive" really be about the band?
The music also tells the story: the song opens with a classic STYX keyboard sound
(think of the opening of "Mother Dear"), but it's also played primarily on an accoustic
guitar. The band really tells the story from the point of view of someone
who feels left in the past, and is evaluating the feats of someone who is forging
the future.
Finally, I'll leave you with this thought: the locomotive changed
our nation permanently. Though the locomotive seems like antiquated technology
by the standards of today, our lives even now are still touched by its
invention in improbable ways: the notion of time zones came from the days
of rail.
Another Thought on "Radio Silence"
By the way, there's something I missed in my earlier note on "Radio Silence" --
another clever touch: if you listen very closely, you can hear morse code for
SOS being played in the background of the track.
There's so much more to this album than I've what I've noted here. STYX has
stuck to their concept album playbook and has createed engaging stories told
through lyric and through the music, for fans old and new.
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