East of Lyra

East Of Lyra, the new progressive project from Lee Payne from Cloven Hoof, have produced a brand spanking new album that is sure to draw traction from fans of Cloven Hoof as well as more classic prog bands such as Rush and Yes.

“Siren Song,” starts everything off. An epic journey clocking in at 10 minutes and more. It veers from one end of the spectrum in grand vocal arrangement and guitar plays, to a shifting and soft melody on the vocal lines, with the guitars slowly filtering through. The bass is prominent throughout, and this begins the saga.

“Ecology Now,” takes a different take on the classic prog short song. Filled with an orchestral flare, it shimmies around slightly and vocalist Chris Dando comes in strong, with some powerful vocal lines. This is a song that will get people singing when performed live.

“Wings of Freedom,” goes down another route. This time plenty of syncopation in drums and the guitars. The song is buoyant and triumphant in parts, fitting the title of the song.

“Shadowlands,” darkens the citadel. The instrumentation varies through the sky of the land. It then gallops through on the wind and Chris Dando truly blazes through into being. Lee Payne is truly instrumental in guiding this song with the bass always filtering through on the emphasis.

“Epilogue,” is a grand closer for the saga that started off in “Siren Song.”

“Where The Heart Is,” the lead single from the album is genuinely quite catchy. The melodies on this song will ingrain themselves within the listener’s mind and ensure that they are singing them long after the song has stopped playing.

“Stand Up,” goes another way. Slowly bringing itself in before unleashing something quite compelling and melodic. The lyrics fit themselves well within this song and ensure that the theme of empowerment is quite adequately expressed.

“Equinox,” goes through a sort of late Rush theme. The song is powered by Lee Payne’s bass, and truly drives things home, rushing into the ground and then sneaking out with a smile on its face.

“Too Late,” is grand and orchestral, playing on the hype elements that were in focus earlier.

“High and Mighty,” is a strong finish for this record. The guitars lead the way, with the vocals coming in hard and proud.

This album is magical, and I fully recommend that anyone who is a fan of prog rock buy this album when it is released on 13th December via Heavy Metal Records.