KILROY WAS HERE

After two weaker Styx albums, in the shape of Cornerstone and Paradise Theater, it was obvious that the band was losing their momentum. Even though they still delivered hit songs, one somehow got the feeling that the chemistry between the members was lost and Kilroy Was Here is a perfect example of just that.

The album kicks off with a short introduction to the Don't Let It End melody before we dive into the album's biggest hit Mr. Roboto. Almost everyone should have heard this song at one point or another so there's really no point to go into details, let's just say that I happen to enjoy it a bit more than I probably should. I think that the main reason for this is Dennis DeYoung's passionate vocal delivery and that's also the case with Don't Let It End and the slightly less memorable High Time. It would have really been interesting to hear more songs from DeYoung featured on this album since his material is what carries this record, thus also explaining why only his material actually managed to make an impact on the charts.

Tommy Shaw does manage to score two nice ballads with Just Get Through This Night and Haven't We Been Here Before? while Cold War is probably one of my least favorite tracks of his. I have no idea how James Young managed to get two songs of his on this album because they are really not all that impressive. Double Life might be quite harmless and one can easily forget that it's even on this album but Heavy Metal Poisoning is where I draw the line! This is a completely disastrous track and one of the few instances that I always make sure to skip the song while listening to Kilroy Was Here.

Did I mention that this is a concept album with a short film and thematic music videos been produced to support the album? Well, I guess that it's for the better! This is as pretentious as Styx would ever get with their conceptual releases so my recommendation is to stick with the individual compositions for their songwriting and forget that there is any theme between them.

This album clearly shows the split within Styx and even though the final product is not the worst record they've released, it's only because this quintet were the professionals that they were. I can only recommend Kilroy Was Here to fans of Styx who have played all previous albums to death and feel that they need to hear a bit new material from the band.

**** star songs: Mr. Roboto (5:28) Don't Let It End (4:56) Just Get Through This Night (6:06) Haven't We Been Here Before? (4:06) Don't Let It End (Reprise) (2:22)

*** star songs: Cold War (4:27) High Time (4:33) Double Life (3:46)

* star songs: Heavy Metal Poisoning (4:57)