On this demo, St. Louis-based Lye plays impressive music that sounds like Staind’s Aaron Lewis met up with Tool’s bassist and asked Creed’s drummer to join the mix. Each of those three bands is well represented on the 27 minutes on this release, but more importantly Lye carves out a distinctive sound for itself while letting each band member contribute equally.
With an aggressive Tool-influenced guitar/drum interplay intro, “The Devil and His Queens” slips into a melancholy and subdued tone. With a runtime of 7:20, it is the longest track on this release and the best indication of the talent level in this band. They can construct pieces of music with intense and non-intense elements with equal dexterity.
The final three tracks all start out with a slow intro. This allows the band to lay a foundation for the musical direction of the piece, and it’s an interesting effect to listen as the band’s intensity picks up as the piece develops. “Something” is the most polished demonstration of this technique, which builds to a frenzy as the vocalist finalist screams the last lyrics “You just let go!” immediately before the song ends. The angst of this betrayal hangs in the air as the similarly themed “To All Of Those…” begins with these lyrics “To all of those who said we’d all enjoy it / You were the exact same people who dressed us up and denied it / Why have I now become the teacher? / To all of those who need to see things clearer?” The question isn’t answered in the song, giving the listener thoughts to ponder.
“The Sore” is more of the same until the final two minutes, when the band launches into a frantic and amazing instrumental blitz. The guitar, bass and drums sound like a jam session. The music fades, ending the release, which makes me really want to hear how they end this song when they play it live. I imagine the vocalist leaving the stage and allowing the other three to play and play. It’s the perfect tease, a draw on the listener to come to a show and hear this song live.
Lye have been together for four years and it shows in this material. The interplay between the instruments is spot on and their sense of song and structure is impeccable. I look for many good things to come out of this band in the future, and so should you.
