Styx released Kilroy Was Here

Kilroy Was Here Styx

Released: February 22, 1983 Charted: March 19, 1983 Peak: 3 US, 67 UK, -- CN, 45 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Genre: classic arena rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Mr. Roboto [5:28] Cold War [4:27] Don’t Let It End [4:56] High Time [4:33] Heavy Metal Poisoning [4:57] Just Get Through This Night [6:06] Double Life [3:46] Haven’t We Been Here Before [4:06] Don’t Let It End (Reprise) [2:22] Total Running Time: 40:41 The Players: Dennis DeYoung (vocals, keyboards) Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitar) James “JY” Young (vocals, guitar) Chuck Panozzo (bass) John Panozzo (drums/percussion)

Rating: 3.353 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album In the television world, the phrase “jump the shark” pinpoints when a TV show goes bad. For Styx fans, the band jumped the shark with Kilroy Was Here, an album which “epitomizes both the grandeur and folly of Styx’s music through the years.” UCR Styx had always had its detractors, but the throngs of arena rock fans clearly outnumbered them, having sent the band’s four previous albums into the top 10 and to multi-platinum status. 1981’s Paradise Theater provided the band their only #1 album backed by a loose concept of the pursuit (and loss) of paradise. Dennis DeYoung’s inkling for theatrics got the best of him here; his hokey “concept about man being replaced by robots” AM and rock and roll being banished made even Styx’s hardcore fans wince. The band “couldn’t even keep the album’s main idea interesting, solidifying the fact that Styx’s forte was singles, not conceptual pieces.” AM Kilroy showcased “a band splintering at the seams.” UCR Longtime guitarist Tommy Shaw left after this album and the band ended up going on a seven-year hiatus. From a pop standpoint, “Kilroy Was Here…harbored two of the band’s best singles” AM with “Mr. Roboto” and “Don’t Let It End.” Past Styx albums, however, established themselves not just on the strength of Dennis DeYoung’s singles, but sturdy rockers from Shaw and James Young. While they both provide “some decent guitar work” AM neither contributed any songs that would become staples. Here they churn out “pretentious, weakly composed, and rhythmically anemic, songs like Cold War, Heavy Metal Poisoning, and Double Life.” AM “The saxophone playing from Steve Eison gathers some redemption, cropping up here and there.” AM The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Mr. Roboto Styx

Writer(s): Dennis DeYoung (see lyrics here) Released: 2/12/1983 as a single, Kilroy Was Here (1983), Caught in the Act (live, 1984), Classics (compilation, 1987) Peak: 3 BB, 11 CB, 3 RR, 3 AR, 12 CN, 40 AU, 112 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 13.0 video, 85.45 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Styx was never a critics’ favorite. They were, however, my first favorite band. To quote Steve Almond in his fantastic book, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, “I loved Styx and...still love Styx and not ironically either.” I’m not sure it is possible to ever get a favorite band out of your system, no matter how embarrassment you might be forced to endure. For many, “Mr. Roboto” was just such a test. The song was the centerpiece of Styx’s Kilroy Was Here album, a pseudo-rock opera conceived by singer and keyboardist Dennis DeYoung. A rock star named Robert Orin Charles Kilroy is imprisoned by the anti-rock Majority for Musical Morality group. He escapes by attacking and then disguising himself as a robot prison guard known as a Roboto. The censorship theme was inspired by the Ankeny, Iowa First Assembly Church of God making new for burning records, including those by Styx, because in Greek mythology it is the river which runs through hell. SF DeYoung was intrigued by Japanese culture and a documentary on robots put to work in factories. SF The head-scratching, Rush 2112-lite story was considered a “jump the shark” moment by some fans. WK “The synthesized novelty of” AM lead single Mr. Roboto definitely didn’t help. With its “mechanically spoken chorus and slight disco beat,” AM it was destined to gain plenty of airplay in the pop world, but it alienated Styx’s more rock-oriented fans. Even the band was divided. Guitarists Tommy Shaw and James Young didn’t care for the techno-pop sound of “Mr. Roboto” and worried that after 1981’s Paradise Theater, also a concept album, they’d be pigeon-holed. DeYoung disputes both claims but acknowledges that it was pushing it expect the band to assume characters, as they did to open shows on the tour. UCR In fact, out of his distaste for the acting, Shaw smashed his guitar and stormed off stage during a Landover, Maryland show. UCM The next day he announced his departure from the band. UCR They didn’t release another studio album until 1990 (without Shaw). Young later conceded that because of the song, “we’re a part of pop culture.” WK Indeed, the Japanese phrase “domou arigatou” which opens the song “entered popular American vernacular.” WK The song was featured in television episodes of Arrested Development, Futurama, How I Met Your Mother, Mr. Robot, The Simpsons, and Two and a Half Men . WK In 1998, Volkswagen used it in a commercial.

Cold War Styx

Writer(s): Tommy Shaw Released: Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 33 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.73 streaming About the Song: Tommy Shaw could veer between greatness (“Renegade,” “Too Much Time on My Hands,” “Blue Collar Man,” “Crystal Ball”) and blandness (“Shooz,” “Never Say Never”). Unfortunately, this one falls in the latter camp.

Don’t Let It End Styx

Writer(s): Dennis DeYoung Released: 4/30/1983 as a single, Kilroy Was Here (1983), Caught in the Act (live, 1984), Classics (compilation, 1987) Peak: 6 BB, 14 CB, 3 RR, 13 AC, 56 UK, 15 CN, 8 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.37 streaming About the Song: The second single, “Don’t Let It End, almost captures the same endearing qualities as their number one hit, ‘Babe,’ did four years earlier.” AM Both songs, however, also bore the stigma of being “power ballads,” which alienated some of the band’s more rock-oriented fans.

High Time Styx

Writer(s): Dennis DeYoung Released: 8/13/1983 as a single, Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 48 BB, 60 CB, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.54 streaming About the Song: It was released as the third single, but its failure to reach the top 40 showed it wasn’t the strongest of songs.

Heavy Metal Poisoning Styx

Writer(s): James Young Released: Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.92 streaming About the Song: James Young contributed this and “Double Life” to Kilroy Was Here. This is by far the stronger of the two and even embraces the album’s loose theme of a world where rock and roll is outlawed. The song doesn’t get much attention in the Styx canon, but deserves mention alongside JY classics like “Miss America” and “Snowblind.”

Just Get Through This Night Styx

Writer(s): Tommy Shaw Released: Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.68 streaming About the Song: Tommy Shaw had done balladry before, most notably with “Crystal Ball,” but he’d also done his fair share of rockers like “Blue Collar Man,” “Renegade,” and “Too Much Time on My Hands.” While this and “Haven’t We Been Here Before” are worthwhile songs, this album sorely lacks a good rocker from Shaw.

Double Life Styx

Writer(s): James Young Released: Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.41 streaming About the Song: It’s not exactly the strongest of JY’s output, but this and “Heavy Metal Poisoning” give the Kilroy Was Here a much-needed dose of all-out rock.

Haven’t We Been Here Before Styx

Writer(s): Tommy Shaw Released: Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.78 streaming About the Song: This feels likes an obvious single, but it was likely overlooked because it was a ballad and Styx had already released “Don’t Let It End.” Still, this Tommy Shaw-led song seems like it could have been a hit.

Don’t Let It End (Reprise) Styx

Writer(s): Dennis DeYoung Released: Kilroy Was Here (1983) Peak: 34 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.42 streaming About the Song: Dennis likes to wrap albums with reprises such as with “The Grand Finale” on The Grand Illusion or “A.D. 1958” on Paradise Theater. They tend to feel like throwaways that try to hit home the point of a theme one last time. This is easily the weakest of those efforts.

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Mike DeGagne SF Songfacts page for “Mr. Roboto” UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (5/9/2016). “Styx Albums Ranked Worst to Best” UCR Ultimate Classic Rock (2/28/2015). “How ‘Kilroy Was Here’ Tore Styx Apart” by Sterling Whitaker WK Wikipedia page for “Mr. Roboto” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 2/2/2007; last updated 8/12/2025.