New York, NY (Top40 Charts) STYX drummer TODD SUCHERMAN released his highly anticipated debut solo album, LAST FLIGHT HOME, on May 2 (his 51st birthday) via Aqua Pulse Records. CDs, high-resolution audio WAV downloads, and limited-edition signed and numbered 180-gram vinyl LPs are available now on all digital outlets as well as his official website.
Today, he released the fourth video from the album for "Ad Lib Everything," which can be seen on his official YouTube page.
Resident Styxologist Mike Mettler recently caught up with SUCHERMAN to discuss LAST FLIGHT HOME.
"This was literally something I always dreamed of doing, but didn't know that I could do."
Recording sessions for LAST FLIGHT HOME, which was co-produced by SUCHERMAN and J.K. Harrison, mainly took place between July 2019 and January 2020 at various locales in California and Texas, with Sucherman handling all lead vocal and principal drumming duties in addition to co-writing nine of the album's ten songs. Over the course of its very concise and well-sequenced 42 minutes, LAST FLIGHT HOME soars mightily, from the universal longing of the title track to the grandiose, twisted orchestral circus vibe of "Ad Lib Everything" (buttressed by a majestic string section) to the heartfelt surrender of "It's Perfection" (featuring angelic background vocals from Todd's esteemed better half, Taylor Mills) to the edgier, self-inflicted carnage of "The Damage."
In fact, LAST FLIGHT HOME is further proof that SUCHERMAN's inherent musical chops and respect for the pocket run deep and true, a fitting testament for a man who's made a career out of serving the needs of the song at hand above all else. As further evidence, Todd cites a few key drummers he admires as being highly influential for how he approached his playing on this album - namely, the likes of Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention), and Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel).
Listeners expecting a Methods & Mechanics-flavored drum clinic will be in for a bit of a surprise when they cue up LAST FLIGHT HOME — albeit in a good way. "Fans of complicated, fast, and tricky drumming are probably going to be disappointed," Todd allows, "but I hope that fans of music will enjoy this record. I know that Styx music affords a lot of room for a lot of playing, but I always try to play musically anyway. Having the singer's perspective this time was interesting, because there were a couple of drum moments I had planned that I thought would be cool from a drummer's perspective. But when I went to play them, they were wrecking the song. I wound up editing my parts so the song could breathe and live better, rather than using it as a platform to show how clever I am."
"Ad Lib Everything": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0iVS0h0-34
"Last Flight Home": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzKlnKKgFFA
"Sacred Book of Favorite Days" lyric video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeQQaPGWT9k
"The Damage" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ1WD4edabc
