When you think of Progressive Metal, you think of bands like DREAM THEATER, SYMPHONY X, HAKEN and more giants of the genre, but there are smaller, rather more versatile bands, that push Progressive Metal to different directions, and explore the genre in it's vastity. V / VEGA, for instance, offers a modern view by interlacing the growing Djent and Meth Metal genres, with a hint of Melodic Death Metal, and their sophomore EP, "Leaving Lyra", is an ideal record for fans of that style.

Upon listening to the first track of "Leaving Lyra", that is appropriately named as "Lyra", you can already hear the odd-tempo drums blasting, the superbly picked trebled bass composition contributed by Josh Levy, the atmospherically reverbed guitar strumming and the vocal overlayering that distinct Meth Metal so much from the common Progressive Metal. Everything about this music is so precise, every note is perfectly placed. Jim Dummer may not be a well known name in the genre, but his vocals prove outstanding, easily making him in par with vocalists like Tom Hompkins from TESSERACT or Ashe O'Hara. The guitar work contributed by the duo Tom Williams and Edd Durcan inlay the amount of ambience needed, and place the last nail in the coffin for this record.

It's a shame this record is only a four-piece EP, though. Being as short as 16 minutes long, "Leaving Lyra" does not provide enough to help gather new fans to the genre, but maintains enough to help V / VEGA, who only started performing live in June 2014, by the way, steal a few fans from the Meth Metal community. Not only that, the surprising guest appearance of Jerry Roush from OF MICE & MEN in "Leaving Lyra" contributes to its ascending success.

Is that a surprise? not really, as "Leaving Lyra" refers to a very specific, more modern listening community, and if you're not a part of it, you'll find it bland and non-innovative. But as you've previously read, it's an ideal record for the Meth Metal fanatics, and it delivers the best of the genre, easily.