DOMINION

I was a bit late to the party on this one. I started listening to IQ when I picked up their 1993 album "Ever". I was struck by their very Genesis-like (Prog years) sound: including vocalist Peter Nicholls sounding almost like Peter Gabriel. That album was great so I immediately ordered their first 4 albums (the earliest released a decade earlier). Those albums were good but not on the level of "Ever" mainly because they were uneven. There were a lot of great tracks, but also some lesser ones. Since then, they have released 7 more albums through 2019. All were excellent from first to last, including 2014's "The Road of Bones"; rated by many as the best prog album of that year (although Opeth and Transatlantic fans would disagree). Covid hit and there was a gap before their next release, this year's "Dominion". These guys have been around for 40-something years now and you'd think they'd show their age, but that's not the case. Nicholls' voice is as great as ever. The rest of the band, very talented musicians, work as a cohesive unit (very Genesis-like) and I think this album may be their best. The main theme is taken from Dylan Thomas' poem "And Death Shall Have No Dominion". And each song addresses this theme from a different viewpoint. Perhaps it's because the band members are getting older and reflecting on their own mortality or somesuch? whatever, the album really works. This one is released on the heels of last year's 4 disc live set "The IQ Weekender" which is very well done. The new album starts out with the 23 minute "The Unknown Door" with its horn intro reminiscent of Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and invokes images of WWII and the bravery and tragedy therein. My favorite song (probably my favorite IQ song) is the last song on the record, "Never Land", dealing with someone who has lost the love of their life. It starts with a gorgeous intro with Nicholls voice carrying the wonderfully spacious melody and it builds and builds until all the stops are pulled as the album comes to an end. I highly recommend this album for Prog- era Genesis fans. "Dominion" and "The Road of Bones" are on equal footing in my mind, and I didn't think that was possible when "Bones" was released.

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