10 Most Dramatic Band Splits In Music History

10. Styx

After conquering the late 70's, Styx were riding high with their mix of pop-friendly hooks and more progressive hard rock moments. However, the band was starting to get fed up with the more conceptual side of their sound and wanted to strip things back to old-school hard rock. That's not what songwriter Dennis DeYoung had in mind though...

With his bandmates vehemently against it, DeYoung led the group through an album that would tell the story of a rock and roll prisoner in a dystopian robot-led society. Songwriters Tommy Shaw and James Young have spoken at length about finding it incredibly difficult coming up with songs to fit the concept. As the touring cycle began for the album Kilroy Was Here, the shows went from rough-and-tumble rock to bordering on musical theatre.

Shaw became so fed up he eventually turned to narcotics to calm his nerves. When even the rock and roll lifestyle couldn't soothe things over, Shaw left the group and formed Damn Yankees, where he would go on to mock the softer side of what Styx was doing. Though Shaw later returned to the fold, DeYoung has since been ousted from the lineup, leaving Styx going strong even without their main songwriter.