The other day I downloaded and listened to IQ's "The Road of Bones". While I don't consider myself a huge fan of the band, I do have various releases, "Tales from the Lush Attic", "The Wake", "Are You Sitting Comfortably?", "Ever", "Subterranea", "Dark Matter" and "Frequency". The thing with this band is that I like various tracks off of these albums. I love "The Enemy Smacks", "Widows Peak", "Headlong", "Nothing At All", "Overture/Provider/Subterranea", "Red Dust Shadow", "Frequency", and "Ryker Skies". No one album stands out as being a favorite and current one is no exception.
I have a few difficulties with the new album and their music in general. First off, many of their songs use the same type of chord structures and sonic textures making many of their songs sound alike. This is particularly noticeable from Ever through to Bones. "Knucklehead (at 1:44) sounds really similar to "Capricorn", it's even in the same key. "Without Walls" (3:33) sounds similar to "Frequency". I know one could say this about many bands such as one of my favorites Iron Maiden. How many songs can you have using i VII VI chords over a gallop rhythm? But if anyone has been following the band in the last 10 years, they'll hear that they've gotten away from that style, mainly due to the larger songwriting contribution of guitarist Adrian Smith and less of bassist and founder Steve Harris. Unfortunately, to my ears, IQ has not followed that route and have gone the tried and true route.
The other difficulty I have is that they are the perfect example of newer Prog. Their song structures, chord progressions, time signatures, textures and production are exactly perfect. For me this means that they take no chances and play it pretty safe making for a generic sound.
Over all, Bones is a good album and I'm sure fans of the band will love it, and I do recommend it. However for me who enjoys a little more variety, and quirkiness to their music, it joins the ranks of the other releases without standing out.
Wilton
I have a few difficulties with the new album and their music in general. First off, many of their songs use the same type of chord structures and sonic textures making many of their songs sound alike. This is particularly noticeable from Ever through to Bones. "Knucklehead (at 1:44) sounds really similar to "Capricorn", it's even in the same key. "Without Walls" (3:33) sounds similar to "Frequency". I know one could say this about many bands such as one of my favorites Iron Maiden. How many songs can you have using i VII VI chords over a gallop rhythm? But if anyone has been following the band in the last 10 years, they'll hear that they've gotten away from that style, mainly due to the larger songwriting contribution of guitarist Adrian Smith and less of bassist and founder Steve Harris. Unfortunately, to my ears, IQ has not followed that route and have gone the tried and true route.
The other difficulty I have is that they are the perfect example of newer Prog. Their song structures, chord progressions, time signatures, textures and production are exactly perfect. For me this means that they take no chances and play it pretty safe making for a generic sound.
Over all, Bones is a good album and I'm sure fans of the band will love it, and I do recommend it. However for me who enjoys a little more variety, and quirkiness to their music, it joins the ranks of the other releases without standing out.
Wilton