SUBTERRANEA

This double concept album continues in the same vein as "Ever" although to me it is more melodic. This is a surprisingly consistant work as far as double albums go with songs 8-10 on the first disc being the only weak section in my opinion.The concept got it's inspiration from a true story from Germany about a wild boy who was found wandering around who had apparently no previous contact with people.

According to Martin Orford as related on the now defunct Dutch IQ Home Page and quoted on the ProGGnosis web-site "The story of the album is about a man who has been confined for an experiment and has therefore been isolated from our society-he gets his food provided but has no contact with the outside world ("Provider"). At a certain point in time he is released by his capturer and emerges in our society where he experiences things...for the first time("Subterranea"). After some hard times among the homeless ("Sleeping Incedental") he is taken in by a religious cult but refuses to be converted by them ("Failsafe"). He meets a girl...who gives him a name. He has a deep friendship / romance with this person("Speak My Name") but in the end she is taken away from him ("Tunnel Vision"). Then he notices he is being followed by henchmen from the man who had held him prisoner for all those years. He captures one of them and forces him to reveal the name of the man responsible for his misery (Mockenrue) and then kills his follower ("Infernal Chorus")..."State Of Mind" is supposed to represent the protagonist on the run, and during the second disc he tries to find this Mockenrue and take revenge. Along the way he realises that life on the outside world is much harder than his earlier, controlled life ("Unsolid Ground"). At a certain point he takes on a disguise to be able to find out what's happening ("Capricorn") then he notices that he's not the only one with this experience, he sees other people who show the same marks / symbol he's been tagged with-seemingly there are more subjects for Mockenrue's experiment("Somewhere In Time"). The mark is the IQ logo which can be found in various places in the cd booklet. Mockenrue's victims decide to team up and take revenge ("High Waters").The group ends up in a large building to which Mockenrue sets fire ("The Narrow Margin"). In the end the protagonist manages to get out of there alive (the only one) and realises he is a menace to himself and society and decides to go back into his confinement."

My favourite song on the first disc is "Sleepless Incedental" that opens with strummed guitar that recalls PORCUPINE TREE as vocals come in.This is a moving song with some heaviness and a more aggressive sound after 2 minutes.The last 2 minutes are pure instrumental bliss. "Subterranea" is also a terrific song that is uptempo and catchy. The sax 5 minutes in sounds great. "Failsafe" is another highlight from disc one. On disc two my favourite song is "Somewhere In Time". I like the contrast of the ballad like intro with gentle vocals and a pastoral soundscape with the almost metal sound 3 1/2 minutes in. "Capricorn" opens with guitar melodies that sound like "Kayleigh" from MARILLION. Some good soaring guitar later followed by a sax solo.The song ends with the sound of the wind blowing that continues into the next song "The Other Side" that is so different from all the other songs. It's very atmospheric with synths, flute and gentle guitar. Not as good as IONA does it though. "The Narrow Margin" is a twenty minute song with plenty of tempo and mood shifts. It's a real ride !

Up to this point in time this is their best work. The production is perfect and I have to mention the excellent drumming as well. Ok they all shine on this ambitious endeavour.