Progressive rock outfix Styx is apparently working on a follow up to their 2017 The Mission, according to bassist Ricky Phillips, and it’s said to be “really interesting”.
A lot of good content is coming out of quarantine times. We’ve seen Rolling Stones release their first bit of new music in eight years, numerous live streams like the PlayOnFest that occurred this weekend, and now Styx reveals that they’re working on a little something-something.
In a recent interview with Chasta from San Francisco’s 107.7 The Bone radio station, Styx bassist Ricky Phillips noted that he’s keeping busy during COVID-19 lockdowns, saying that he’s “writing bass parts for stuff as Tommy Shaw [guitar/vocals] sends it to” him.
“He’s writing and working in Nashville, where he lives. And then he sends me stuff here, [and] I work on it. Eventually, when we all come out from our caves, we’re gonna go and get in a room and carve a new record,” he detailed, “which the material is really interesting.”
If we think he is feeling bored about staying at home, Phillips quickly put our worries at ease by saying he’s having “a lot of fun” and to not “feel too sorry” for him. “I’m actually doing what I love right here at home.”
As for the content of the new album, he was asked if any of it will be inspired by the current global pandemic. Phillips was a bit surprised by the content thats come thus far as it’s been a little prophetic”.
“We started writing this before all this went down, but there’s two or three songs that [I had to ask], ‘Tommy, you wrote this before this happened?’ I mean, it sounds like it is [inspired by COVID-19].”
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As for the direction the new music will take, Phillips noted that the band has always tried to stay true to themselves. “There’s one record that I would have to, maybe, give them a demerit on, but almost every single record, they’ve stuck to that sound, the tone, the vocals… ”
“There’s a lot of proggy stuff and a lot of odd signatures, but you never feel like you’re in a music theory class; it’s done in a very friendly way. And as a musician who has done and recorded with a lot of people, done a lot of things, produced stuff and written stuff for various people, I need a challenge,” he continued.
“At this point in my life, I don’t think I would be in a band if I was just kind of kicking it and playing three- and four-chord songs. So this is really fun.”
At this point in time, there is no telling as to when new Styx material will arrive, but Phillips is quite keen, adding that the band “has always had this way of having these positive messages, and that’s part of the attraction.”
Check out ‘Renegade’ by Styx:
