Speaking To Stones are the latest addition to the rapidly growing Lion Music roster.  This three-piece progressive ensemble started life back in 2004 when founders Tony Vinci, David Callari and Steve Germano set about bringing an intense progressive sound in to what some would see as an unholy alliance with the more modern popular sound scope, with the vocals being completed by Richard Fink IV. 

The album itself has been a labour of some two years with some of the material dating back to when the band were first formed.  The album has finally sees the light of day later this year.

The album opens up at a gentle pace with ‘Still Life’ and from the off the labour of those years is here for all to hear in all its splendour and grace.  This isn’t just another relentless progressive album that remixes old values and mindsets about the whole progressive genre, this album brings new life into the genre by mixing the modern elements of the bands influences like Kings X and Dream Theater and the obvious soundings of Rush, and wrapping them in the Speaking To Stones package.

The album continues with ‘Rescue Me’, a more hard edged track which features a heavier bass perhaps more accustomed to the new breed of young metal bands rather than a prog band  This goes some way further towards the bands idea of creating a more fused sound between the traditional and the new.

Where as the next track ‘Waiting For …’ is more melodic than progressive and shows the very eclectic nature of the bands sound.  The band go for an altogether heavier sound and takes on the Dream Theater approach to progressive rock with ‘Down’, a much heavier track than the previous songs.

The band continue the Dream Theater likeness with the riff laden ‘My Final Sin’, before slowing things down a little with ‘Close To The Sky’ and the haunting melodies of ‘Shallow’, before closing the album with the semi acoustic feel of ‘Nothing’, which again highlights the band more modern sound.

To try and pigeon-hole this band in the progressive genre is a little harsh, yes there are progressive elements to the whole Speaking In Stones sound but they are much more than just that, and finding a genre to put them in is hard to do, so I won't even attempt to do so.  What we have here is a good eclectic mix of genres that I defy anyone to put a label on.