Styx
Circling From Above
Tommy Shaw: Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Mandolin, and Vocals
James Young: Electric Guitar and Vocals
Chuck Panozzo: Bass Guitar
Todd Sucherman: Drums and Percussion
Lawrence Gowan: Piano, B3 Organ, Synthesizers, Mellotron, Harmonium, and Vocals
Will Evankovich: Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Harmonica, Synthesizers, Soundscapes, and Vocals
Terry Gowan: Bass Guitar and Upright Bass
May 28, 2025 — Creating and recording new music is often considered the lifeblood of any band — an ethos AOR torchbearers Styx continue to embody with the release of Circling From Above, the 18th studio album in their formidable catalog. Spanning 13 tracks, the album navigates the complexities of the human experience through the intersecting lenses of technology and nature.
The album, the band’s third in eight years, delivers a 41-minute, end-to-end listening experience that is both thought-provoking and exhilarating. A masterclass in storytelling, it blends signature Styx hallmarks with bold steps forward — building on the creative momentum of recent releases The Mission (2017) and Crash of the Crown (2021).
Driven by the kinetic energy of lead single “Build and Destroy,” the album is immediately available to fans at StyxWorld.com, the Universal Music Webstore and all tour stops of Styx’s “Brotherhood of Rock” tour, which kicks off tonight in Greenville, S.C. The album’s official public release date is set for July 18.
Styx has remained a touring juggernaut for the past 25 years, but according to guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, the band’s current streak of artistic resurgence in the studio is due to multiple factors tethered to a deep sense of harmony.
“There’s just a lot of positive flow right now,” says Shaw. “There’s a lot of people playing great, and there’s a lot of love, respect and excitement about each other’s talents. Bands can go lifetimes and never have this kind of rapport and chemistry.”
Circling From Above features contributions from all seven members of the band, including founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young (affectionately known as “The Godfather of Styx”), Shaw, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer Todd Sucherman, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, and newest members Will Evankovich (guitars and vocals) and Terry Gowan (bass).
The album was produced by Evankovich, who also helmed the band’s previous two records before becoming an official member. All 13 songs were penned in various combinations by the band’s songwriting triumvirate of Shaw, Evankovich and Lawrence Gowan. Referencing the trio’s creative spark, Lawrence Gowan says it’s not a simple case of majority rules but rather a true collaborative endeavor.
“I’ve noticed over the last three records, there’s a real effort to make sure everyone’s got a smile on their face at the end of it,” he says. “There’s creative friction, but everybody gets a go around the table and we all get a swing at the tree. And that’s really, really good.”
“It’s a strange three-way democracy for sure,” Evankovich says. “We all know that the institution of Styx is the most important thing.”
Circling From Above is a dynamic collection that reflects the full emotional and stylistic range of the Styx canon. It’s muscular yet introspective, theatrical in moments and layered in sincerity at others — balancing progressive leanings with deeper, thought-provoking messages.
“When you start writing an album, there's generally something that piques your imagination, and all of a sudden, you’re a storyteller starting with the seed of a story,” says Shaw. “A good song is like a straight road — it’ll get you to the next place.”
Midway through writing the album, a loose theme began to orbit the band’s creative process — a gravitational pull, if you will, guiding them down the straight road Shaw describes. In a moment of studio serendipity, talk turned to an app that tracks abandoned satellites, those silent relics of once-lofty ambition. From that spark, the opening tracks — including the title cut and “Build and Destroy” — took shape, tracing the tension between human ingenuity and the dreams we sometimes discard in its pursuit.
“When they were shot up into space, these satellites were somebody’s dream and ambition,” says Shaw of the once-cutting-edge technology now floating aimlessly through the atmosphere. “They served their purpose and they were cast aside. It’s a wasteland up there, but they were once created with love. We’re all humans, and who’s to say our love project is better than someone else’s?”
Look closely at the album cover art and you will see this thematic overture take flight. Thousands of starlings — chosen specifically for their supreme ability to work in concert together with their flight patterns — in the shape of one bird, soaring over a dilapidated satellite dish.
“They’re prevailing and we’re failing,” notes Evankovich of the cover. “We’re not like the rest of the creatures that work in stewardship together, like the birds and the bees and all the other things. We do things and then create waste for ourselves that ends up harming us.”
Fans will discover no shortage of standout tracks on Circling From Above, a handful of which could end up as singles or be prime candidates for inclusion in an expanded live set once the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour — during which Styx will be playing “The Grand Illusion” album in full — concludes in late August.
“Forgive,” the likely second single, is a perfect example of the current writing collective, featuring an emotional core, tradeoff lead vocals by Shaw and Gowan, and a perfectly crafted emotive guitar solo by Evankovich.
“That intro with an acoustic guitar and Tommy singing is a signature Styx thing, whether it’s ‘Crystal Ball,’ ‘Radio Silence,’ or any of the others he does,” Evankovich says. “That’s just classic. Give me an acoustic guitar and Tommy Shaw’s voice and I’m sold!”
“Michigan” is a song Shaw and Evankovich wrote back in 2011 about the internet’s power for both good and bad. The song exudes a frenetic tension and was written in the style of a James Bond movie theme. “It’s Clear” is another radio-friendly tune with brooding verses, powerful, melodic choruses and a bewitching breakdown segment in the middle. “It’s Clear” also has the distinction of being just the second Styx song to feature three separate lead vocal performances, with Gowan, Shaw and Evankovich all taking a primary turn at the mic.
“That’s a fun song,” Shaw says. “It’s like a maze.”
Young makes a mark with his trademark baritone lead vocal on “King of Love,” a song written specifically for him, and the last one recorded for the album. In addition to his booming vocal, he plays a blistering guitar solo, even using the original G5 Strat he played on Styx’s debut album in 1972.
"When JY gets going, he’s hard to stop,” says Evankovich. “The Beck/Hendrix/Clapton love child exudes Chicago blues. It’s always a joy to see the improvisation take shape in the studio with him."
Diversity runs rampant on the second half of the album as Styx pays homage to its own roots while also giving pointed tips of the cap to some of the band’s earlier influences. The rollicking “Everybody Raise a Glass,” for example, with its exuberant vocal and Brian May-esque harmony guitar solo, sounds like it would feel right at home on Side II of Queen’s A Night at the Opera. And rocker “We Lost the Wheel Again,” buoyed by Terry Gowan’s turbocharged bass performance, Sucherman’s other-worldly (dare we say Moon-like) drumming, and Evankovich’s lead vocal could easily be a leftover track from Who’s Next by The Who.
“We’re not afraid to show our influences,” says Lawrence Gowan. “I like the fact that we're such products of that entire era of classic rock that we don't try to necessarily mask in any way what we're inspired by from that era.”
“Blue-Eyed Raven” is a gypsy-flavored tale, bedazzled by Shaw’s Spanish guitar and mandolin stylings and a “Fiddler on the Roof” meets “Devil Went Down to Georgia” manic fiddle solo on the back end by Nashville session stalwart Aubrey Haynie. Adding to the song’s mystery is that it was inspired by a true story.
“That song has a long arc,” Evankovich says, citing previous Styx forays outside the norm on songs like “Boat on the River” and “Our Wonderful Lives,” which feature Shaw playing mandolin and banjo, respectively.
“The Things That You Said” hooks the listener from the get-go, with Shaw’s melodic vocal over an infectious keyboard riff immediately launching out of the temporary tranquility of “Ease Your Mind.” There’s some amazing vocal performances, both lead and background, and the closing section of the song is especially lit. No one else can stop the maniac, indeed.
“Only You Can Decide” follows in the grand tradition of choosing your closing song wisely. Pensive and poignant, it encapsulates the album’s theme of examining our personal choices and recognizing how they may fit into the larger scheme of humanity in general.
“I always heard that as the closing song,” says Shaw, noting that he wrote it in the wake of multiple school shootings. “It’s a broad message. I didn’t want to make it about gun issues but I was just trying to suggest that you don’t need to get a gun and do something bad with it.”
Just as “Circling From Above” unfolds like large doors opening to a new world, “Only You Can Decide” slowly closes them again, leaving the listener to ponder their individual role in making the world a better place.
“The bigger theme,” Evankovich says, “is that Styx is all about hope. We’re always trying to send a message that it’s possible, if we actually work together, to make things better.”
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