THE MISSION is a thrilling return to STYX's progressive roots, complete with a courageous & visionary concept inspired by a friendship with NASA scientists on the New Horizons Mission. A captivating adventure unfolds across 14 tracks, 249 million miles from home! With a sound as big as a galaxy & two years in the making, it embodies a throw-back progressive-rock feel. This is the band’s first brand new studio album in 14 years. THE MISSION is STYX’s bold sonic voyage into an exciting new frontier with the goal of discovering how the universe’s mysteries unfold—and then creating the perfect soundtrack to accompany it. Recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, The Mission comes complete with an all analogue recording & mixed with a larger than life sound. The new music was created to reflect the viewpoint of the six-person crew enlisted for the maiden voyage of Khedive, the first entry in a new fleet of nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft underwritten by the Global Space Exploration Program (or GSEP, for short). The Khedive team consists of The Pilot, a fully hands-on, seat-of-the-pants born leader; a First Officer who serves as the team’s big-brother figure; an Engineer who is skeptical of every phase of the mission but remains confident in his own abilities to make the best of any technical situation; and a Top-Shelf Trio of science, astrophysics, and survivalist experts.“The planets truly aligned for THE MISSION, and I couldn’t be prouder,” says vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw, who co-wrote the album’s storyline with longtime collaborator Will Evankovich (Shaw/Blades, The Guess Who). “It’s our boldest, most emblematic album since PIECES OF EIGHT.”