THE MISSION

Styx go full-on prog with their sixteenth studio album 'The Mission' - an epic and spacey concept album about a trip to Mars that takes place in the year 2033. This album sees the band with the following lineup: Tommy Shaw, James Young, Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman, Ricky Phillips, and Chuck Panozzo appearing on just one track. Comprised of fourteen tracks, 'The Mission' is quite possibly the best episode in the band's long and fruitful career; Keeping things 'short and sweet', this 42-minnute epic sci-fi ride sees the band produce tremendously good songs that flow seamlessly into one another, making up for a pretty impressive, memorable, and beautifully produced concept album - and certainly one of the stronger concept albums of this decade.

The story is captivating, the music is simultaneously accessible and astonishingly good, as 'The Mission' sees the band's principal musical aspects collide for the birth of what could safely be proclaimed their best work - their prog rock roots and their masterful ability to write very good songs that are memorable to the core. Just one listen would be enough for the listener to notice how well-composed and detailed tracks like 'Locomotive', 'The Greater Good', 'Red Storm' and 'The Outpost' are, and how each single element of this record makes sense and contributes to the overall blissful coherence of this journey to the red planet.

A really pleasant surprise - this is precisely what 'The Mission' is; and also, an exclamation mark that a band is never too old to create its masterwork. And I am entirely sincere in these words, as I have not heard such an enjoyable Styx album from start to finish, such a tremendously good collection of songs, with such attention to detail and sound. This is well-backed up by the fact that the band recorded this album between 2015 and 2017, obviously taking their time and justifying each second spent in the studio, giving the world a really impressive modern progressive rock album.