STYX II

And their "oh so original" brand of jumbled power pop/prog is so weak. Here we find them sacrificing their progressive tendencies for a much more radio friendly and arena rock landscape.

The opener is pretty biting, if the vocals are a bit weak. The guitars wail, and the soloing, while needless, is kind of fun. The lyrics are still a massive load of banal garbage, but at least they aren't going punk! I need not inhibit nightmares...

Their emotional hit Lady is next up, and I wish it wasn't. this is about as progressive as a car in reverse, but it is still kind of nice. They rely on theatrics, but are very poor in their execution. Those vocals make me weep. Indeed, this record is a step up from their debut, but when their debut is 6 feet under, stepping up is still in the mud. And that is what this album is, mud. Each aspect is dirty and perverted.

The prog? hardly existent. The rock? Bland and incontrovertibly a rip off of better bands. The emotion? Well, it is here I suppose. They sound like they give a damn about what they are doing. I sure don't. A Day is some softer movement, but it is heavy handed and only minimally interesting. The melodies are half baked, and that piano fill is just stupid. Two minutes in and the song is finally over. Wait, this song is almost 9 minutes long? Oh dear. I do so very much dislike torturing myself. Meandering and repetitive.

And in the greatest act of diversity possible, they rip out with pathetic southern rock. To hell with this, pick one band to clone and stick with it! It is shallow, and the drumming pales in comparison to anyone I can think of form this era. Second rate band Styx always were. Little fugue in "G" must be a joke. I like it, but this is just an ELP copycat technique. Where is Styx's identity? Nowhere. They don't have one. They just take from everyone else. And fail most of the time. This I think is why the majority of regular folk despise progressive music. This is plain bad.

Father OSA isn't much better, with the laughable soft rock proto-power ballad, with amateur organ sound. I kind of like the basic melody, though. But it is still a very shallow song. Those vocals. Do they actually think this is emotional singing? Does the guy eat cardboard? I think so. So bland and mediocre were Styx, even at their peak. This isn't their peak, but it is all pretty much a hole.

Closing with a good song might be a good idea. They do. I'm Gonna Make You Feel It is a hard rock song, with no progressive pretensions at all, and the vocal harmonies aren't too shabby. Well, I might be a bit too kind here. Still a raw and weak song, with keys flying high, just not well. At least it is short, I say.

Styx are not a cohesive unit, yet. And they do progressive rock atrociously. But, the songwriting is stronger, for their increased focus, but this is still a painful listen.

Best Song - Lady

Worst Song - Everything else

*1/2 stars.

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