Customer Reviews

Subterranea

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unbelievable that i'm the first to write a review about this brillaint piece of work.
IQ is one of the most underrated bands in the world (Along with Camel)

Symphonic rockband IQ doesn't make many albums, but when they do it's always a good piece of work. And Subterrenea (2 CD concept album) is no exception.
The music is brilliant in it's moods, and Pete Nichols voice is more sensitive and beautiful then ever.

The Ballad Speak My Name is very moving. And the last 20 minute piece The Narrow Margin is a sheer brilliance.
Note that there is NOT ONE weak song on Subterrenea, and that for a double cd..
If you like bands like Genesis, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, then this CD is a MUST!

Give it a listen (or 100) you will LOVE it. ;)

I don't use "greatness" to describe many bands or albums but IQ, who are still playing music 20+ years from their inception, create a dark and somewhat pessimistic double CD concept album.

The comparisons between IQ and Genesis are to a degree reverential and functional. Lead vocalist, Peter Nicholls sings with great emotion and on this album, sings his heart out. His voice has an occasional 80s style series of inflections that, for me, took a bit of getting used to. It was well worth it, as Nicholls is a showman, wearing makeup and costumes, at least he did in the IQ 20th Anneversery concert. More importantly he fits into character where necessary and has several styles of singing, not unlike Peter Gabriel, although by this point in time, around 2000, any serious attempt to snag PG riffs would be tacky. Instead, it's fairer to say Peter Nichols grew into his vocal style.

The rest of the band, the well traveled John Jowitt and Martin Orford, respectively bass and keyboardist have been part of IQ for most of it's history and have been part of the touring line-up of Jadis along with Jowitt playing a stint in the neo-prog pedigreed The Arena. Both are excellent musicians with Jowitt using the under-utilized string pops on bass. He does so in a way that is not dated like so many other bassists from the late 70s thru early 80s. The drumming of Paul Cook is steady and assured. His sound is tight, with tasteful beats and fills.

Guitarist, Mike Holmes, has made a career of learning every riff Steve Hackett played. To his credit, for the most part, Holmes has taken this style and moved on with it making it something that truly is his, and this man can play some incredible guitar. Both lyrical and technical, he is a consumate professional that chooses to play whatever is right for the song, even in spots he could let loose with a killer solo that would be inappropriate but acceptable in most post-1970s bands.

Working and knowing one another for so many years makes for a band that has a good feel of what one another ware doing, which brings us to Subterranea.

Tracks to give a good listen to include the trio of songs near the albums beginning, "Subterrenea, Sleepless Incidental and Failsafe" all three which travel in a stately way, yet find substantial ground and different, yet well developed stylistic changes. The literal feeling of progression is all over Subterranea, with the title track being almost anthemic in it's unsettling and moody way.

Many of the tracks seque, so you'll be doing some editing as you make mp3, etc. copies for your portable unit.

Another thing I don't say often but it applies here, I am stuck on Subterranea and find myself listening to both CDs worth of material, looking forward to the epic conclusion, The Narrow Margin.

Obvious comparisons are "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", Genesis, prog-rock in general and a bunch of labels that may fit to some degree, but in the end, Subterrenia is very much an IQ album with themes that have been established over their history.

Why should you take time to hear this? If like me, you got sick of prog rock and some of it's less than good features, like seeing who could record the longest, most complex song or indulge in 20 minute solos, and worst of all, attempting to fit in with commercial music and the so called New Wave and Punk which was every bit as idiotic as any other music form.

Basically it went like this. Bands come up with interesting ideas in reaction to areas of music that became absurd and didn't reflect the social or economic times of most listeners. That just about killed bands that had heavy concert draws, including Yes and Genesis. Suddenly it was as if there were rules for how 'revolutionary' you were. The hippie sensibilities and talk of love found in music like progressive were replaced by glib songs asking what love was and discussing the sexual revolution 2.0, this time including gay relationships and a seemingly endless discussions that lead to one person's perversity being another's hobby. Worse, the music that was going to save rock became as jaded and formulaic the instant the music industry adapted to this new musical standard, which would be repeated almost a decade later with 'alternative' music, which to this day is an endless morass of alternative to what?

And then there were bands like Marillion and IQ who held on to their anti-market and just made music. Lo and behold, they found audiences and still have fans. I didn't know of IQ 20 or so years a go unfortunately, but I do now and honestly, find them to be one of the more exciting bands in the neo-progressive field. Subterrenea was my first taste of IQ and I instantly felt like I found new friends! Their sound is classic for the kind of music they do, and besides being wonderful performers, if a bit kitchy, they sound the role, play the music with near perfection and are so sincere and happy doing what they do it is difficult not to root for them.

And it's worth rooting for IQ because they write catchy songs in the 4 - 9 minute range with one or two epic tracks per album. There is a big debt of musical gratitude to Genesis although IQ help to truly define the neo-prog genre. Their music, while complex and played as if the band's life depended on it, is also simpler in composition, lacking some of the near insanely complex writing and performance of bands like Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant who exemplify the original progressive scene. If you listen to Genesis, even post Gabriel recordings like Wind and Wuthering, have structures that are worthy of orchestral arrangements and complexities rarely seen anymore. The same was true for Gentle Giant and particularly Yes who added the frenetic compositional style to an equally muscular performing style.

IQ, while wonderful performers don't work at this level of complexity. Still, to think they are watered down is a serious mistake. Every person in IQ is at the top of their form musically and in particular Subterranea demonstrates this.

So, putting everything together:
IQ are an institution in their own right and Subterrenea demonstrates why
The album's themes are somewhat obscured, most likely intentionally, but like old-school progressive, the lyrics raise interesting concepts and most likely are supposed to be a bit obtuse.
The energy and control the band plays with is wonderful. When listening to them, I don't feel like I'm being hit over the head with devotional riffs that are intended to remind me that the band can do the hard stuff.

I like the Flower Kings and like Paradox Hotel, their latest of this writing. They share many qualities with IQ, but they are the kind of band that likes to refer to their heros, which was fun on their first couple releases but is a distraction when it happens, which it sometimes still does. On the other hand, IQ own what the do. They may have influences and know how to play like the bands they were influenced by. They simply don't bother because they've become the sum of their influences and their own skills.

Subterranea is somewhat ghost-like with lingering sadness. Some of this may be from personal experiences and much of it, simply IQ's exceptional musical vocabulary.

It may take a couiple listens but it becomes evident that Subterranea is a masterwork, not only for IQ, but in general. It's a great introduction to the band and in my opinion is probably slightly lesser to their current album, Dark Matter which has a bit more in the progressive department and is even better produced and played.

The nice thing about IQ is their consistancy and their actual impact on the world of music, something bands like to hope for but in fact rarely happens. Between Marillion an IQ we kept progressive rock from disappearing. At 20+ years of making excelent music, it is time they were recognised by a larger audience. Unlike Marillion, IQ stayed the course on progressive music, another reason I admire them. If I were to nominate two neo-progressive bands it would be IQ and The Flower Kings, both at different polls of the progressive scale, with the Kings being a bit more explosive and IQ more composed within the song so that despite Mike Holmes' considerable guitar talents, they are similar to Genesis in that they are heavily ensemble based compared to the stunning chops displayed by TFK and it's band members that are in a dozen or so extra-carricular bands and side projects. And while I still enjoy Marillion, I'd say they are one of the better rock outfits that h ave strong ties to progressive music.

If you somehow missed IQ as I did, take the risk on Subterrania. It is a wonderful album that asks many questions and deals with the human condition while doing so over a crop of wonderfully written songs.

As a long time fan of Genesis early years music, it was a total revelation to discover IQ. The Subterranea album is very good, with the best tacks being Subterranea, Capricorn and the Narrow Margin. My favorite is Sleepless Incidental, this is truly a 'classic' prog piece, with lush soundscapes, chord and tempo changes and everything a piece needs to be enjoyable.
Highly recommended.

The first CD of this set is a killer from beginning to end. The 2nd CD peters out a little but not much. I haven't tried to figure out the story; I'm just enjoying the music. Peter Nicholls' voice takes some getting used to, but if you're an IQ listener already, you're familiar with it. The instrumentalists are all first-rate. A guest saxophone player really spices up a couple of the cuts.

I'm glad I waited until after five or six complete listens to write this review. If I'd have written it after listening only two or three times I'd have commented that there's not enough common themes to pull this double CD concept album together. How wrong THAT review would have been!

After a few more spins I was rewarded with a suite of songs easily as good as "Dark Matter" or "Frequency", a pair of extremely strong efforts also by IQ. Some great themes interwoven with care and a deft touch that only become apparent after several listenings.

For some reason -- and it could just be me -- I hear more passages on "Subterranea" that strike me as evocative of past prog giants; early Camel on "The Narrow Margin", the final epic cut -- singularly worth the price of admission. This song also contains a shimmering synth sequence right out of the Larry Fast/Peter Gabriel playbook ("On the Air"). I swear the boys in the band listened to Larry's work on that song and said, "Man! We're doin' THAT!" I don't blame them a bit -- it's magnificent. At other times, there's almost a Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" vibe when the sax solos crop up from time to time. "The Other Side" sounds like a cut from Tangerine Dream's "Force Majeure".

I do agree with another reviewer who commented that Peter Nicholls' vocals are not as standout as on other IQ albums. He's a talented vocalist, but I found his choruses a little grating on a few songs on the first CD. But I can easily overlook those few isolated moments and unequivocally say that "Subterranea" is among the best neo-prog extended concept albums available on the planet! 100 minutes of stellar material with very, very few weak moments.

This is my first IQ experience, and I was really looking forward to it. Too bad. At times brilliant musically, but oftentimes stuck in the same key from one song to the next. Good mix on instruments, but vocals too up front and get old pretty quickly. Sort of a cross between Jon Anderson and Geddy Lee (more the former, less the latter), it seems Peter Nicholls really needs some harmony behind him (a la the harmonies of Yes to back up Anderson, who's stronger to begin with). The melodies are often on the boring side, obviously added after the music and not adding much to the overlaying rhythms and root notes. In other words, no counterpoint, and nothing really to make it interesting. Perhaps, after a few more listens, Nicholls will grow on me, like Geddy Lee did. Or perhaps I will begin to tolerate his voice, while listening to the excellent musicianship surrounding him. Or perhaps I gained two coasters. It just seems like a little bit of bgv's would've gone a long way here.

I'm glad this was not my first IQ cd I ever heard. The only song I ever listen to on this CD with any "Frequency" is the title track Subterranea, great song with excellent guitar play. The rest sounds like some concept album that never really had any direction or substance. Fortunately my first two IQ cds were "Dark Matter" and "Seventh House". Those are their finest works and I listen to them all the time. Skip this one.

I think IQ deserves credit for carrying on the kind of songwriting that was mainly dominated in the 80's as far as progressive rock/metal is concerned.

Subterranea is a pretty melodic album that is extremely reminiscent of the 80's metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Dio, and Queensryche. There's a lot of melody (something that pleases me personally) and a fair amount of guitar work that's pretty neat.

If for nothing else, this album definitely has a cool atmosphere to it that makes you want to dream, expand your mind, and just be free to absorb the magical adventure that awaits. I don't deny there's an ever slight cheesy sound going on, but most 80's metal bands were guilty of the same thing and the quality of the songwriting didn't drop *too* much as a result.

I like the album. I think IQ is definitely a band that's heading in the right direction as far as the future of rock music goes. The point is to rock, dream, and hear lots of melody, all of which IQ delivers on.

Esta Obra maestra realizaday producida por el legendario grupo ingles IQ solamente puede ser comparada con las grandes obras realizadas por los clasicos como por ejemplo EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION y otras grandes pero a diferncia que en ocaciones al escuchar la obra de IQ nos olvidamos por momento de estos clasicos.
Con inpenetrable lirica y una magnifica armonia vocal PETER NICHOLLS,con majestuosa interpretacion de los teclados por el maestro MARTIN OXFORD,con precisas intervenciones de la guitarra de MIKE HOLMES y la maestria y trayectoria interpretativa en el bajo de JOHN JOWIT hacen que IQ sea una banda recordada con subterranea y este en la gloria del rock progresivo de todos los tiempos. y entonces QUE MAS SE PUEDE DECIR .

I've always been a little hesitant to write a review on this one. Of all the IQ offerings, this one took the longest to get into. In my opinion there is some filler and padding going on. However, there is also some remarkable songs. I think with a little trimming and editing this would have been a better overall production. It has grown on me with further listenings. I realize now this was an ambitious project and ultimately a failed masterpiece. I would not start here if you are new to IQ. But, I certainly recommend this group to anyone who loves great music. Let's get something straight. This band is awesome and Peloser kind of led me away from them. What a crime to lead someone away from greatness. Easily the best band to come out of the 80s. No, fool, not Queensryche!