DOMINION

Today I'll be reviewing the latest album from IQ, titled "Dominion", released March, 28, 2025. IQ are a neo-prog band initially formed in 1981 by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford. Their first album wasn't released until 1987. I reviewed one of their albums during the #100greatestprogrockchallenge , "Subterrenea", which came in at #87 in the countdown.

The line-up on this album is as follows:

- Peter Nicholls / lead & backing vocals - Michael Holmes / guitars, producer - Neil Durant / keyboards - Tim Esau / bass, bass pedals - Paul Cook / drums, percussion

This is a cold listen, as usual. Lets get into it:

Track 1 - The Unknown Door

We jump right in with a 22:33 epic! A synth-brass fanfare, reminiscent of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" kicks off the festivities. Then quieter keys lead us to the first vocals. By 2:30, the vocals become more rhythmic and piano is added. An additional layer of rhythm enters after 3 minutes. A cymbal roll and occasional bass drum beats join. Then there is an acoustic guitar solo after a verse. The full band kicks in at around 4:35 with accents. The beat gets strong and steady at 5 minutes. Nicholls' vocals are strong and clear. A nice drum fill leads us to a double time beat at around 6 minutes. Soon after, though, Cook plays a marching snare cadence with some tom-toms in a more half-time section. Durant takes a synth solo after the 7 minute mark. The production is crystal clear. Cool synth tones around 8:30. A heavier odd meter section follows, taking us to another synth feature. The vocals return and this section is very exciting. Great harmonies at 9:35. We get an organ solo after 10 minutes. Great proggy playing at 10:50. A guitar solo from Holmes joins at around 11:15. Lots of time changes in succession aroun 11:50. Great build up to 12:40 when a great cacophony leads to a quieter section with sound effects. This bit reminds me of the beginning of the "I Get Up, I Get Down" section of Yes' "Close to the Edge". But then an acoustic guitar strum along the lines of PF's "Dogs" or "Porcupine Tree's "Time Flies" takes over at 13:45. The drums and bass kick back in at around 15:15. Esau's bass is right in the pocket. Then at 15:55 the sound explodes with pipe organ and rhythm section accents, and goth choir tones. The beat gets steady again after 16:20 and Holmes takes another guitar solo, before Nicholls returns on vocals. The synth is featured next. This is great prog! Nich climax at around 17:50. Super cool drumming at 18:15! The busic pauses again for sound effects and sustained synths around 18:35. Vocals return around 18:50. Pipe organ and bass join in. The drums return soon after, and Holmes plays countermelodies on the guitar. Things seem to be building to the big finish. After a pause in rhiyhm arond the 21 minute pont, the vocals drop out and a guitar solo brings us to the closing lines, quietly acoustic guitar and synths! Another fantastic epic for 2025! Great track!

Track 2 - One of Us

We go from the longest track to the shortest at 3:11. Acoustic finger-picking starts us off here, joined by vocals at around 20 seconds. This one is very folky. Subtle synth joins in at around the 1 minute mark to lead in the second verse. The acoustic playing is very nicely done. A wonderful acoustic ballad to allow us to catch our breath following the dynamic epic!

Track 3 - No Dominion

This is the next shortest track at 6:25. Synth fades in and the band enters with a very lush synth tone as the dominant sound. He then plays a moog-like melodic pattern, before most of the instruments drop out for the vocals. The rhythm section joins in a subtle fashion in the second half of the first verse. The beat gets steady on the second verse. A cymbal roll takes us to a sction similar to the intro. The guitar has been subtle on this one, with Durant's keys taking the spotlight along with Nicholls vocals, Nice rhythm section work at around 4 minutes. A tom fill at just after 5 minutes ushers in a guitar solo from Holmes. The sound is full and rich as the song fades to a close. Good track, but maybe not as strong as the first 2.

Track 4 - Far From Here

This is the second longest track at 12:44. We begin with either electric piano or a chime tone on the synth in 6-8, to which the vocals join in. I believe some tuned chimes join in between the verses. The tone of the song is foreboding. At around 2 minutes some synth strings join in. The beat begins to change at around 2:30 as a drumbeat fades in, with a cool flanger effect on the fills. The band locks into a heavy groove with the new beat. A synth solo comes in over top. A synth choir joins in on the next verse. The groove continues with chime tones taking the spotlight between verses. The rhythm section are airtight. At about 5:45 they lock into an "Immigrant Song" groove. A synth solo plays over the top. When the vocals return, the synth plays fills. This is almost Dream Theater heavy in this segment around 7 minutes. At 7:30 the rhythm stops except for a pulsing synth. The band kicks back in at around 8 minutes, and the grooves keep shifting. There is a great vocal peak around 9:30, before a guitar solo takes over. There is a pause around 10:20, and sound effects take us to a dreamy state. A softer verse begins around 11:00. Subtle clean guitar joins in as we begin to reach the ending. Great track!! It leads straight into:

Track 5 - Never Land

This one is right in the middle of the track times at 8:14. Warm synth carries over from the previous track. This is very peaceful as it begins. Nicholls' voice has shown great ranges of emotion throughout the album. He sounds almost hopeful here. Nice fretless bass at 1:55. A subtle rhythm in the synth joins by 2:45. This feels like a "slow-burn" kind of song. The band kicks in big at around the 4 minute point. The underlying rhythm propells the song forward. Nice harmonies at around 6:10. The song is slowly building in intensity. Holmes gives us a guitar solo just before the 7 minute mark. Then the vocals join back in before the rhythm drops out in favor os sustained synth sounds. That brings us to a close. Great track!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Great album! On my earlier review of "Subterranea", I was less than impressed, giving it a 3.75 out of 5, not bad-not great. I truly enjoyed this one much more, as nearly every track was awesome! Only track 3 was slightly lower rated for me. I give "Dominion" a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Clicked 5 but really a 4.5...4 seems too low for me.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to yarstruly
• Report this review (#3191673)
• Buy IQ music online with PA partners
• Show all IQ MP3/Stream
• Go to IQ page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Dominion page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for IQ related discussions