Circling from Above

Circling from Above is the eighteenth studio album by American rock band Styx. The album was released on July 18, 2025, by Universal Music Enterprises. This is the first album to feature Will Evankovich and Terry Gowan as full-time members.

Circling from Above
Studio album by Styx
Released	July 18, 2025
Genre	Progressive rock hard rock
Length	41:13
Label	Universal Music Enterprises
Producer	Will Evankovich
Styx chronology
Crash of the Crown (2021) Circling from Above (2025)

Background

On March 20, 2024, Styx announced via social media that Ricky Phillips would be leaving the band to spend more time at home and away from the road.^[1] On March 22, 2024, Lawrence Gowan's younger brother Terry debuted as the new touring bass player for Styx at their show in Wallingford, Connecticut.^[2] On May 17 he was announced as an official member.^[3][4]

On May 28, 2025, Styx announced their eighteenth studio album, Circling from Above, set for release on July 18 via Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Produced by Will Evankovich, the 13-track album explores themes of human ambition, technology, and nature, and features contributions from all seven current members of the band. The lead single, "Build and Destroy," was released alongside an AI-generated music video, and physical copies of the album will be made available ahead of the digital release during the band's 2025 Brotherhood of Rock tour.^[5]

Track listing

Circling from Above track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Circling from Above"	Tommy Shaw Will Evankovich	2:00
2.	"Build and Destroy"	Shaw Evankovich Terry Gowan	3:53
3.	"Michigan"	Shaw Evankovich	3:03
4.	"King of Love"	Shaw Evankovich Gowan	3:29
5.	"It’s Clear"	Shaw Evankovich Gowan	3:31
6.	"Forgive"	Evankovich Gowan	3:55
7.	"Everybody Raise a Glass"	Shaw Evankovich Gowan	3:35
8.	"Blue Eyed Raven"	Shaw	3:54
9.	"She Knows"	Evankovich	3:35
10.	"Ease Your Mind"	Evankovich Gowan	0:48
11.	"The Things That You Said"	Shaw Evankovich	3:28
12.	"We Lost the Wheel Again"	Evankovich	2:57
13.	"Only You Can Decide"	Shaw	3:05
Total length:			41:13

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[6]

Styx

• Tommy Shaw – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, vocals
• James Young – electric guitar, vocals
• Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar
• Todd Sucherman – drums, percussion
• Lawrence Gowan – piano, B3 organ, synthesizers, Mellotron, harmonium, vocals
• Will Evankovich – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica, synthesizers, soundscapes, vocals, production, engineering (all tracks); string arrangements (tracks 6, 8, 9, 11)
• Terry Gowan – bass guitar, upright bass

Additional contributors

• Alan Hertz – mixing, engineering
• Channing Watkins – mixing assistance
• Scott Rottler – engineering
• Austin Brown – engineering
• Mark Petrocelli – drum technician
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• Stevie Blacke – strings, string arrangements (6, 8, 9, 11)
• Jeff Coffin – clarinet solo (9)
• Aubrey Haynie – fiddle solo (8)
• Josh Graham – art direction, design, imagery
• Caitlin Layne – band photography, video
• Jason Powell – band photography, video