Styx have released a new single called “Crash of the Crown,” the title track off their upcoming album.
“Crash of the Crown” previews Styx’s 17th studio LP in characteristically epic fashion, combining dizzying keyboards, fluid guitar leads and heroic vocals across three movements. It’s the first song in Styx history to feature three lead singers, as James “JY” Young, Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan share vocal duties.
“I’m always looking for the one different thing we can do and still have it be Styx, and that’s the song I’m most proud of,” Gowan said in a press release. “The beauty of it is that it’s the culmination of all our talents crammed together into one song, Abbey Road-style. I also got to use some gear I never thought I’d have the chance to play on a Styx record like Tommy’s Hammond B3 organ, my Minimoog and my Mellotron.”
You can listen to “Crash of the Crown” below.
Crash of the Crown comes four years after Styx’s last studio album, The Mission. Recording sessions began in the fall of 2019 but were halted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. After quarantining and getting tested for COVID-19, the band members resumed tracking at Shaw’s Nashville home studio.
“Absolutely no obstacles were going to get in the way of how we approached creating this album,” Shaw said in a press release. “And everything came out exactly the way we wanted to hear it.”
Crash of the Crown’s personnel includes original Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo, who has played with the band on a part-time basis since 1999. Panozzo laid down bass tracks on two new songs, “Our Wonderful Lives” and “Lost at Sea.”
Styx will release Crash of the Crown on June 18. It will be sold as clear vinyl, black vinyl, CD and on digital platforms and is available for preorder now on the band’s website.