NOMZAMO

In my quest to hear every single IQ album after hearing at least 6 outstanding releases, I knew sooner or later I would stumble across one that would not measure up, and here it is folks. This is what happens when a great prog band sells out and gives into commercial pressure and it aint pretty. Gone are the epic, complex musically intricate dynamic opuses to make way for radio friendly pop pap such as the awful Passing Strangers and Human Nature.

With the departure of Peter Nicholls, IQ became a commercial pop band worse than Asia, with the import of vocalist Paul Menel who does not have the power of Nicholls in any respect. This year of release 1987 killed a lot of bands and tried to kill prog, so many bands were selling out to survive.

There are moments of prog in the instrumental sections and I particularly love Nomzano, Common Ground and Still Life, all beautiful emotional pieces, but its a band that lost direction here. Screaming sounds like its trying to be a hit song, and thats likely because the record label was pressuring them into this. Thankfully the next albums were a vast improvement. They release masterpieces one after another so I hope I can be forgiven for the harsh critique.

Overall Nomzano is a lacklustre album reeking of mediocrity and one of the most torturous exercises I had to endure for a long time. I am now off to wash my ears out with some decent IQ. Ryker Skies will do nicely.