Styx are gearing up to release a new concept album called Circling From Above, and it's all about a bird.

Vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw took the creative reins on this one. "You're writing about your experiences in your life and things that you love and enjoy, or things that were hard to go through and that sort of thing," he explained in a recent interview. "So you're just really just writing a book in little sections like that."

Because the album's theme is such a niche concept, Shaw was worried Styx's label representative might be weary of putting it out, but to his surprise the idea was well-received.

"But he says, 'Oh, we're birders!'" Shaw said in a separate interview. "It was kind of risky to say this thing's gonna be about a bird. But there was so much enthusiasm and it's like, you know, sometimes in life things just go your way – and this went our way."

The band officially announced the album on Wednesday (May 28) and shared its lead single, "Build and Destroy."

“That little melody, I kept singing ‘Build and Destroy,’” keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, who sings the lead in this song, said in a press release. “Even though we don’t sing over that part, I kept thinking that would be a good title. It’s thematic. The melody feels like a little ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Twilight Zone’ thing — just a small tag that reinforces the title.”

“We knew it was strong," he added. "Even though it was the second-to-last song we finished, it felt like a quick way into the album’s overall theme.”

Circling From Above is slated for a July 18 digital release. Limited vinyl and CD copies of the album are available on Styx's official website. The band is also heading on tour this summer with REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin. Listen to "Build and Destroy" and see a full list of tour dates below.

Dan McLain