DOMINION

Iconic British prog band IQ returns with a new album in 2025, the plainly titled 'Dominion', which happens to be their first single-disc set since 2009, after their two massive double albums released the previous decade. This new album is definitely informed by and expands upon the hard-hitting and melodramatic neo-progressive rock style developed on their previous two releases, as the band delves further into this dark direction of their music, with all the ominous interludes, scorchingly heavy passages and gorgeous vocal harmonies. But unlike the riff-heavy 'Resistance', the band's 2025 offering is a moodier, more atmospheric work that dares to play with a lot of ambient and quiet passages, much to the listener's surprise. And with just five tracks in rotation, 'Dominion' may feel a little more confined compared to the band's recent double albums, whose strength lied in the vast exploration of doomy soundscapes and cathartic mood shifts.

This release, however, is more nuanced and vulnerable, and represents all the things that IQ stand for - the labyrinthian prog-epic, in the face of the opening track 'The Unknown Door' is the most fulfilling and expansive piece on the album with its dazzling twenty-two minutes of playtime, a powerful composition that lures you in with its unconditional beauty in the opening notes, soon transformed into a swiveling dance of technical playing, with the ominous synths and the pointy jabs of the bass guitar, working the ground for Mike Holmes who comes in with a massive verse just before mid-song. Excellent all throughout, this is a really fine entry point for the album, which moves on to the tranquil 'One of Us', here working more as an interlude before 'No Dominion', a more atmospheric song replete with dramaticism and suspense, transitioning into the 12-minute suite 'Far From Here', another very interesting track, with its darker atmosphere and march-like drum patterns; here the band interpolate their heavy tendencies with their usual eclecticism. Closing track 'Never Land' is slow, lush and tame, perhaps bookmarking the album with its tender notes, as the ones we had heard in the beginning of 'The Unknown Door'. The vocal work of Peter Nicholls is always impressive, and with 'Dominion' he delivers one of his richest and most emotive performances, which is probably also valid for Mike Holmes and Neil Durant, both having a very strong presence all over, and delivering some of the finest leads on an IQ album. All in all, this is a really great new album that treads upon the darker, moodier path of 'The Road of Bones' and 'Resistance', this time with a greater focus and emotional intensity.

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