Will of the People, Part IV
Guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich theorizes about the possible surround sound future of Crash of the Crown, and what that mix might sound like if it indeed comes to pass.
Text & photos by Mike Mettler, resident Styxologist
Band photos by Jason Powell
“When you have the ability to put things in nine or ten speakers, you’ve got an even bigger opportunity to do these things in bigger, more impactful ways.” —Will Evankovich, on the potential for mixing Styx music in Dolby Atmos
Hello my fellow Stygians, one and all! Well, it’s been quite enlightening to see all the passionate reactions and feedback regarding just how well-received the first two nights of Styx’s five-show residency at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian in Las Vegas with special guest Nancy Wilson (of Heart fame) on January 28 and 29 were, that’s for sure!
On Sunday — a truly well-deserved day off! — I spoke separately with guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw and guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich to get their respective POVs on the first two Venetian shows, and both gents were clearly pleased with what had transpired. No spoilers here regarding setlist choices, of course, but as Tommy told me, “It’s getting better every night. Show #2 was a level up for all of us, having made lots of notes from the night before. Our voices really blend together nicely with Nancy’s. I’m so glad we have three more shows ahead!” Added Will, “After we got the nerves out of the way, it all came together! Nancy is a very lovely person. I dig her.”
As Tommy rightly noted, there are indeed three more shows at The Venetian between now and February 5. If you want to see any of the band’s other upcoming gigs, head on over to our Tour section to find out what shows are already forthcoming in this very special 50th anniversary year for our favorite band. (More Styx shows are being added as the days unfold, so continue to stay tuned!)
Speaking of our man Will E, let us now return to our current interview series with Styx’s newest bandmember, shall we? As many of you know, Will has been Tommy’s key songwriting collaborator for the past decade-plus, and he’s also been the gent in the producer’s chair for Styx’s two most recent, and quite fantastic, studio albums, June 2017’s The Mission and June 2021’s Crash of the Crown.
Recently, Will and I did the Zoom thing together and shared a good many hours delving into quite a few Styx-centric topics. Last week, Will and I discussed the finer aspects of recreating the depth of the band’s studio recordings onstage, the kinds of challenges artists and content creators constantly face, and what topic areas may (or may not) become the basis for the next Styx album — once it eventually gets underway, that is. This week, we talk about the potential for mixing Styx music in surround sound and Dolby Atmos, which COTC tracks would sound the best in multichannel mixes, and the connection between “Sound the Alarm” and European history, both past and present.
Mike Mettler: We were just talking about going on some new audio adventures, so to speak, so let’s indulge our respective inner audio geeks for a moment here. As we’ve discussed before, I’m really looking forward to hearing Styx music get mixed in Dolby Atmos and any related Spatial Audio options, considering how much I love the 5.1 version of The Mission you guys did on Blu-ray [for the expanded two-disc edition of the album in 2018].
Will Evankovich: Yes, and I’ve found it has to be a “mix-plus.” If your foundation is in the first two stereo speakers, what happens is, if you’ve got everything spaced too far out, the mix doesn’t rock as hard as it did in stereo.
Mettler: I totally get that. Well, if ever there were an album that should be mixed in 5.1, and/or 7.1, and/or Dolby Atmos, it would have to be Crash of the Crown. What do you, Mr. Producer, think of that idea?
Evankovich: I think the bigger picture plan from the Universal label is to do both The Mission and Crash of the Crown in 7.1 and Atmos, because that’s their overall plan for a lot of the music in their catalog [i.e., the entire Universal label’s catalog offerings, not just Styx’s catalog].
I don’t think they have stems from [December 1975’s] Equinox, so they may not be able to do anything with it, but that’s the plan for at least the rest of the catalog including Crash and The Mission — at least from what I understand. We’re supposed to be in the pre-approval process for all that, so we’ll see what happens.
Mettler: We’re only just theorizing about it all right now, anyway. Nothing is official and nothing is set in stone, of course. And like I said, you do already have a fine 5.1 mix of The Mission on Blu-ray as a benchmark. You have firsthand experience with that one, and you know what needs to be done.
Evankovich: Oh yeah, for sure!
Mettler: I mean, hearing “Red Storm” in 7.1 at a bare minimum, and certainly in Atmos, would be like the Styx audition track for these advanced surround formats. The 5.1 version is already one of my personal, and professional, favorite demo tracks, so I look forward to hearing that one whenever it all comes to pass.
Evankovich: Me too! (laughs)
Mettler: From your point of view, what songs from Crash of the Crown would you either love to mix in surround or in Atmos yourself, or at least hear them mixed in that way?
Evankovich: I’m gonna go with the prog stuff, because it is definitely exciting, and it’s different. So, things like “Common Ground,” “Crash of the Crown,” “A Monster,” and even “Coming Out the Other Side” — these are all tracks that offer lots of opportunities to do cool stuff with on the surround platform.
And then, of course, even a song like “Hold Back the Darkness” because of the ambiance, and the rain.
Mettler: Totally! The atmosphere you guys created for “Darkness” already lends itself to a surround sound presentation, in my opinion. As for “Common Ground” and “Crash of the Crown” — two tracks where more than one of you guys are trading off the lead vocals — I’m already thinking about the height element and the impact of where those vocals can be positioned in Atmos, kind of like how I want to hear the way the height dimension gets used in that middle break during “Red Storm.”
[Your Styxologist clarifies: Without getting overly technical about it, whenever I refer to “the height element,” I’m talking about ceiling-mounted or “height” speakers utilizing the Atmos format advantage of being able to place vocal and instrumental elements literally up above the more vertically inclined stereo soundfield positioning many of us are used to hearing with standard 2.0 mixes.]
Evankovich: When I mixed the COTC album, and especially when I’m producing stuff, I’m always trying to get that feel in a two-dimensional effect. Like at the end of “Sound the Alarm,” with Tommy’s vocal trail-off — how that’s walking through the speakers, and the ambiance of the fade-out.
I mean, I’m old-school in that I always want to get the “experiential” effect from songs, like when you’d listen to things in headphones as a kid — the Pink Floyd thing, where things are walking around your head. But when you have the ability to put things in nine or ten speakers, it’s just — you’ve got an even bigger opportunity to do these things in bigger, more impactful ways.
Mettler: To me, “Sound the Alarm” would be a great Atmos option because of the atmospheric vibe of how that song builds. I can hear Tommy’s backwards vocal stuff at the very end appearing way in the back of the back channels, both above and beyond the field of dimension that’s available to you there when Tommy’s saying whatever he’s saying. (chuckles) Atmos just opens up a lot of possibilities.
Evankovich: Yes! The thing I had in my head was, it’s like “Sound the Alarm” had a Scottish battleground feel to it. That’s why you have the bagpipes-like solo in the middle there. And at the end, all you see is William Wallace and the smoke, and you hear the voices chanting in the background, kind of fading off into the distance.
[Your Styxologist clarifies: Sir William Wallace was a noted Scottish independence leader of the late 13th and early 14th century. His symbolic accomplishments are most likely known to modern pop culture enthusiasts due to the popularity of the Oscar-winning 1995 film, Braveheart.]
Mettler: Oh yes! I don’t know if you and I have discussed this before, but to me, the parallel to “Sound the Alarm” is the title track to Dire Straits’ [May 1985 juggernaut multiplatinum album] Brothers in Arms. There’s a bit of a 1985 feel to how he [Straits guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler] did it, but you really feel like you can see the smoke rising from the battlefield while he’s singing about what’s going on there, with a very somber approach to how it’s being sung and presented. And both songs are precursors where you, the artists, are going next.
With “Sound the Alarm,” we feel like we’re moving past the journey phase, and now we have to contemplate what comes next. And that’s what you guys will be writing about, eventually.
Evankovich: Yes, yeah! The smoke hasn’t cleared yet, so there are a lot of questions about what’s to come. And if the Highlander comes, well . . . “There can be only one!” (both laugh)
Mettler: That’s right! And that’s the next album title, right there — There Can Be Only One. (both laugh) Plus, you can have a sword sound swinging across the entire soundfield to go along with that, and whatever head rolls because of it.
Evankovich: (laughs heartily) Right! “Who Wants to Live Forever”? (more laugher all around)
Mettler: Good point! And thanks for reminding me “Who Wants to Live Forever” is a great Queen song that was in Highlander. I feel like their “Princes of the Universe” was also in that movie — and in the TV show too, right?
[Your Styxologist clarifies: Both of these Queen songs, initially from June 1986’s A Kind of Magic, did indeed appear in the 1986 British film Highlander. “Princes” was also used as the theme for the title sequence of the syndicated Highlander: The Series TV show that ran from 1992-98.]
Evankovich: I think you’re right! And when you listen to that music, you go, “If they hadn’t married it to a movie or a TV show, it might have been a record that would have been bigger on its own.” Because when you attach it to a film, it has a kind of kitschy feel to it, like it was written for the film. (slight pause) Good stuff, though.
Next week: Will Evankovich shares his impressions of COTC almost a year after it was completed, among other Crown-related topics. See y’all right back here in 7 days!!
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