Think about some of your favorite progressive rock bands. Got them in mind? Now forget them. Lye is a new breed of progressive rock hailing from St Louis, Missouri. The bands debut EP ‘To All Of Those…’ features some familiar elements from the progressive rock genre but adds so many other intangibles that it’s hard to compare them to other bands in the genre.

Yes Lye uses sweeping melodies over rhythmic drumming but they also uses very technical guitars with lots of solos to keep the listeners attention on the longer songs. Yes Lye uses heavy guitar riff and bass lines but they also use subtle instrumentation to balance their sound. The result is a five song EP that takes the listener on a journey letting them experience every ebb and flow.

The opening track “The Devil And His Queen” showcases the bands sound perfectly. It starts off with heavy drums and loud, distorted guitars but quickly shifts to a soft serene sound. The song transitions back and forth between the two extremes for over seven minutes but never seems to loose your attention. It almost seems as if Lye is telling you an epic story through the song. This is a hard concept for many bands to pull off let alone do right but it works here. The rest of the EP follows along with the opening track in terms of a balanced sound with epic storytelling, until the last track.

Lye seems to step it up on the last track, “The Sore”. The song almost sounds like Tool with its drumming and bass lines but differentiates itself through the guitar work. For most of the song the guitar work is basically just a lot of riffing but once you pass the halfway point of the song your get some monumental solos that take the song and band to another level. The solos are almost reminiscent of 80’s metal or fantasy metal but works well with the rest of the instrumentation. It is the perfect way to end the EP and leave listeners wanting more. It will be interesting to see where the band goes next and if they are able to continually work outside of the norm.