DARK MATTER

01) SACRED SOUND. This song, dissimilar from other forewords, begins with a way too histrionic opening with the synth chords. It has "epic" written all over it, save the length, due to such the emphasis on a "diffusive" scene, brought to us by keyboardist Martin Orford, and although it doubtless wouldn't have been one of my first choices for the first release in four years, it was nonetheless pleasurable to hear the band play again.

The odd thing is, around forty-five seconds into the track, the impact fades into a more IQ-ish tenor, with nothing sinister or eerie about the instruments, at least from what I could hear. The guys were just jamming, and it echoed great.

"Even after all the days are gone," dear God, it's great hearing Nicholls' vocals - way better than "The Seventh House." Divergent from trendy belief, I really am impressed. If truth be told, admiration belongs to three things: Peter Nicholls' vocal chords, Martin Orford's keys and the chorus. Without much embellishment, Orford overwhelms this song.

02) RED DUST SHADOW. I've heard this song live a few times before these guys put it in the album, and I have to say, I benefited from the prior accounts healthier. Sure, this one has far more dark effects and echoes, but when they sang it live, it was pure and uninhabited, like it should be. A gorgeous cry, even so, with melancholic acoustic drama atop ascetic keyboarding.

03) YOU NEVER WILL. A rapid ticking endows the beginning, quickly obscures by John Jowitt's bass riff that persists rather erratically. Not the best accretion, but great vocalization makes this song worth my time.

04) BORN BRILLIANT. Personally, I never much admired alliterative titles, but that's just me; and this track makes no exception. "Born Brilliant," to be candid, is a hideous title. Perceptive words by Nicholls and a cadence that resurrects constituents of "The Wake." With such mesmerizing mellotron work, no one can ever call IQ derivative, or at least can be taken seriously.

(THE SONG OF CHOICE.) 05) HARVESTER OF SOULS. Where Sacred Sound failed, this song outdoes; from guitar to bass to drums to vocals; from prologue to climax to finale; from sheer appeal to astonishing re-appearance, this song openly articulates the quintessence that is IQ. Cliché-packed, though it may be, this epic all the same is pleasing to a degree that IQ loyalists won't be disillusioned . . . at least, I'd think otherwise.

In closing, this is by no means the ensemble's best release, but it unquestionably is memorable, and immense for a four-year absence in the progressive world. "Welcome back, guys," would be in order, but I'm not that kind of analyst.