Styx - Brave New World

While not exactly a return to form, the first studio record since 1983 by the classic Styx trio of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, and James Young will undoubtedly please hard-core fans. There's nothing here on the level of "Come Sail Away," "Miss America," or "Lady," but that trademark combination of thrilling, arty hard-rock sounds and gently swooping, full-blown ballads continues. Dennis DeYoung's crazily high-pitched voice still hovers admirably in the castrato range for the most part, though time has introduced a few rough edges. In grand art-rock tradition, the record's supposedly got something to do with futurist British scribe Aldous Huxley (one of classic rockers' favorites), but if anything will bother the listener, that's not it. Songs such as "Number One" reveal an attempt by the band to update their sound with newer variations on hard rock; the result is less than satisfying. When they stick to the old formula, as with "I Will Be Your Witness" and "While There's Still Time," it's like grunge never happened, which is what this nearly-30-year-old act are supposed to sound like. --Mike McGonigal