Iq Test

27 years after their debut album UK veterans IQ show that they are still a band with the capabilities to create solid albums. This 2009 release is quite listenable, and the influences that have served IQ well in the past (including Yes, Pink Floyd, and pre-1980s Genesis) continue to serve them well on Frequency. This is, for the most part, a very moody album, but it is also very accessible - and appealing tracks such as "One Fatal Mistake," "Closer," "Stronger Than Friction," and "Life Support" are easy to absorb even if one isn't a seasoned prog rock listener. It should be noted that IQ have had their share of personnel changes along the way; on Frequency, their 2009 lineup consists of Peter Nicholls on lead vocals, Michael Holmes on guitar, John Jowitt on bass, Mark Westworth on keyboards, and Andy Edwards on drums.

The Seventh House came out almost four years after IQ's previous studio album, Subterranea. In light of this CD, it appears that the critically acclaimed 1997 concept album was the band's creative peak, which does not mean The Seventh House is weak. The general feeling of the album makes it closer to 1993's Ever. Peter Nicholls' theatrical voice gains in beauty with age. The playing is unsurprisingly tight, the musical approach firmly anchored in melodic progressive rock. Highlights include "Guiding Light," "The Wrong Side of Weird," and the title track, the latter a complex and exhilarating number. On the other hand, "Erosion" and "Zero Hour" feel like they miss a dimension, even if the acoustic guitar on the latter brings in a different texture…