Originally released in 2003 via Sanctuary/CMC, the Styx album ‘Cyclorama’ has just been released on all download and streaming platforms for the first time. The album by the Chicago rockers was their 14th album and last album of original music, prior to the 2017’s ‘The Mission’.
Styx have also released a conceptual video to accompany the song ‘These Are The Times’, with lead vocals by guitarist James ‘JY’ Young, and the spotlight is on the people who have been working supporting others during the pandemic.
‘JY’ told MetalTalk: “It’s amazing how a song that was created in a certain timeframe, can fit into another timeframe 17 years later and that is the case with ‘These Are The Times.’
“It’s even more amazing how this song encompasses the current world situation and that it can fit into a song so beautifully. It’s a fascinating thing.
“The video was created by my best friend Steve Jones, who is so incredibly talented and I’m blown away with what he came up with.
“Styx fans and the world at large, take a breath, this too shall pass and it’s the music that will carry us through.
“AMEN!”
Reflecting on the ‘Cyclorama’ album, singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw told us: “Cyclorama was kind of an experimental record, just to see where we were as a band after having reformed in 1999.
“We were stretching our legs in the studio, and there was a lot of growth and moving forward.
“That’s how I look at that album. Whenever I think of CYCLORAMA, it puts a smile on my face.”
As part of the band’s ongoing association with thePittsburgh Steelers (the team plays ‘Renegade’ at the beginning of big defensive plays in their stadium), Styx are asking fans for donations to be made to the Pittsburgh Foundation Emergency Action Fund.
The Pittsburgh region is facing unprecedented economic, health and human services challenges in the global public health pandemic brought on by the COVID-19 virus.
In response, on March 16, local philanthropies partnered to create the Emergency Action Fund, which awarded operating grants on a rolling basis to emergency service providers and nonprofit organizations serving on the front lines of recovery.
To donate to the Pittsburgh Foundation Emergency Action Fund visit https://pittsburghfoundation.org/emergencyactionfund
