Subterranea by IQ

Subterranea by IQ, from 1997

The origins of IQ go back to a previous band, The Lens, after whose breakup Holmes and Orford formed IQ. 

The original lineup included Peter Nicholls on vocals, Paul Cook on drums, and Tim Esau on bass, with a sound inspired by the symphonic rock of the early '70s. Their first albums Tales from the Lush Attic (1983) and The Wake (1985) are now classics, seminal albums of the neo-prog genre. 

Peter Nicholls left the band in 1985 and Paul Menel took his place. The Menel era began with Nomzamo (1987) and Are You Sitting Comfortably? (1989), with a more pop and commercial sound.
Nicholls returned in 1993 for the album Ever and with him progressive rock also returned, which from that moment continued to release highly successful albums, including the double concept album Subterranea (1997) and Dark Matter (2004). They have recently released Dominion, in March 2025

Subterranea is an album with a dark and rock sound, with melodic passages and dreamy atmospheres, with complex arrangements that give great emphasis to keyboards and bass, and with beautiful piano parts and masterful vocal performances by Peter Nicholls. 

Over 100 minutes of splendid neo-prog and one of the band's best works, a double album that contains short and energetic tracks as well as long and epic compositions. Intense music, capable of giving you chills. 

The concept tells the story of a man held prisoner in an experiment, who is released into the outside world, but then chooses to return to his captivity:

The man (unnamed), after spending his entire life in an underground cell, completely isolated from the outside world, is suddenly released into a society he cannot understand and struggles to adapt and interact with it. He is completely unaware of the environment he finds himself in, the cars, the buildings, society, and in a panic tries to escape when he meets a homeless woman who helps him find his way, and between them a story is born, first of friendship and then of love.
He soon realizes, however, that even in this new context, he is part of a different experiment and is constantly monitored. Once discovered, he is separated from the woman and his initial panic turns into anger, an anger that drives him to seek the reasons for the experiment that once again imprisons him. He discovers he is not the only one subjected to this tragic game, and seeks out other victims with whom he joins forces to seek revenge. Together they confront the architect of the experiment in an old factory, which is then set on fire, killing everyone except the protagonist, who tragically resigns himself to his fate and voluntarily returns to the safety and familiarity of isolation in the underground environment where it all began.

This tragic and surreal story is told through music with beautiful atmospheres, with musical and narrative themes that connect the tracks to each other. 

The shorter tracks are mostly atmospheric and of fine quality, such as King of Fools with beautiful synths and guitar, Speak My Name which is a beautiful and very engaging ballad, and The Other Side, an instrumental track that uses pitch delay to achieve unique sounds, with rising and falling arpeggios.

Great track also Sense in Sanity with a great Martin Orford on keyboards. But there are also typically rock tracks like the title track, Subterranea, which is a very powerful song, and Unsolid Ground with beautiful melodies.

Sleepless Incidental" is the heaviest and most aggressive track with splendid guitar and bass. Failsafe stands out with its keyboard solos, while it is Tony Wright's saxophone that takes center stage in Capricorn, giving it intensity and drama. 

The Narrow Margin is definitely the TOP track of the album, an epic piece of over 20 minutes that ties together the musical themes of the record, a great composition.

A beautiful album, cared for in every aspect including the artwork by Tony Lythgoe. 

IQ, a band I follow in all their works, deserve to be known for their creations and not for similarities with other bands often cited and in my opinion overused, considering their decades-long career and demonstration of an original and recognizable sound. 

This is an album I recommend to all prog lovers, but also to those who simply seek emotions in music, which IQ know how to convey in an exceptional way. 

Chilling. Great record.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page

LineUp

- Peter Nicholls - lead vocals and backing vocals
- Mike Holmes - guitars, guitar synth, producer
- Martin Orford - keyboards, backing vocals
- John Jowitt - bass, backing vocals
- Paul Cook - drums and percussion

With:
- Tony Wright - saxophone