If Styx rhymes with phoenix, it is perhaps because, like the bird of legend, it knew how to rise from its ashes. After Dennis de Young's departure, the band had only produced two mediocre studio albums in eighteen years, including one of covers, seeming to put a sad end to its career. But in 2017, Styx surprised everyone by releasing one of its best albums, "The Mission." Four years later, he proves with "Crash of the Crown" that this revival of shape was not a flash in the pan.
"Crash of the Crown" revives the golden period of the band. With age, Styx's hard rock tendencies have faded a little in favor of a vitaminized rock with choirs, the band's true trademark, and not disdaining to frequently tint itself with pop and glam. Tommy Shaw, Lawrence Gowan and co. have not lost any of their writing quality and show it through fifteen very short tracks (only one reaches 4 minutes) whose addictive character is immediate. This brevity doesn't prevent Styx from multiplying the attractive themes within the same track, like the eponymous title which sees James Young, Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan following each other on vocals on three different melodies.
This is the flaw of the album: if the short duration of the tracks induces a certain dynamism, the listener will regret that some themes are not exploited more (it's hard to prevent oneself from letting out a cry of frustration at the premature interruption of 'Lost at Sea'). A reproach that already marred the listening of "The Mission". But keeping his fans in suspense by a slight frustration is perhaps a strategy voluntarily developed by Styx?
A weakness which, finally, is not really a weakness. "Crash of the Crown" whose melodies oscillate between those of the Beatles and Queen, two references that speak for themselves, brings an immediate pleasure of listening... but also a lasting one.