THE ROAD OF BONES

Big disapointment this. Even bigger than the previous one, which in my opinion concists of only one really interesting track, "Frequency". Something defenitely went out the window after keyboardist/composer Martin Orford left. And that is what attracted me to this band in the first place. Namely IQ's ability to write catchy, melodic songs and still retain their progcredibility. The song "the wake" is a brilliant example of this. A shame that the studioversion of this song were recorded with such poor sound quality. Other examples of IQ-songs with strong melodic structure are: It all stops here, Widows peak, Capricorn, High waters, Harvest of souls and The seventh house.

"Road of bones" sounds to me like dark, gloomy and dull film music without any creative leaps at all. The melodylines are almost noneexisting or at best boring and predictable. Sure the guys can play, but the playfulness, the aggression and the creativity are gone. And my suspicions that these writing qualitys vanished with Orford are confirmed.

The wake, Subterranea and Dark matter on the other hand, are classic prog albums. Highly recommended. Stay clear of this road.