DARK MATTER

Dark Matter is the eighth album from IQ and it also marks the end of an era, because it's the last album they recorded with keyboardist Martin Orford, sadly retired from music industry these days. After him, IQ would not be the same (they are maybe even better now!)

This album contains only five tracks in the vein of other albums like Ever or The Seventh House (not so epic like Subterranea) with a slightly darker tone in general (not too dark, this is IQ folks!) being the first and the last one two true neo-prog masterpieces. The other three are maybe not so fantastic, but very solid nevertheless making the album very enjoyable from beginning to end.

The musicianship and production are simply amazing, and Peter Nichols sounds just perfect.

Best Tracks: Sacred Sound, Harvest of Souls and Born Brilliant mainly because the great lyrics.

Conclusion: Dark Matter is one of the best IQ albums, containing two outstanding songs and three very good ones. Catchy, satisfying neo-prog at its best! Maybe too conservative despite the darker tone of the lyrics and some musical passages, but this a minor defect in comparison of the otherwise excellent musical quality of this record.

My rating: ****