SUBTERRANEA

I have a great deal of respect for other so called neo - prog bands such as ARENA and SPOCK'S BEARD and a host of others. IQ however, seem to pretty much stay true to what I grew up calling PROGRESSIVE ROCK. If you don't know by now GENESIS is my top dog on this food chain and while IQ bear a striking resemblance to what Genesis used to be, they are a little more fresh at the craft than what Phil and the boys later became. The "concept album" only seemed enevitable being that the band has, 1: been labeled a Genesis clone and 2: everyone is does them.

I am somewhat confused by the flow of SUBTERRANEA. It seems more like a collection of great songs sandwiched in between some marginal material intended to stretch the album into a two disc set. It is my assertion that this could have been a single disc and might have possibly been their crowning achievement. Disc 1 has three standout songs on it. SLEEPLESS INCIDENTAL, FAILSAFE and INFERNAL CHORUS. Those three songs are indicative of what this band is capable of when they decide to play progressive rock in it's purest form.

Disc 2 obviously contains what, in terms of single songs , is their best composition to date. That being THE NARROW MARGIN. A 20 minute free - ride that takes you on a journey of auditory pleasure. Also contained is BREATHTAKER and UNSOLID GROUND. If you break those 6 tracks up and put them on a single album, you've got something truly special.

The only thing that kinks all this together and makes it work as a concept LP is the story involving a being created or raised in a lab all his life and his love for "Maya."

IQ does Genesis better than Genesis so while this album is an over all pleasure, it isn't truly essential unless you are an avid IQ collector.

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