The IQ Thread

[sirbradford117]

In this thread you teach me everything I need to know about neo-progressive band IQ.  I'm halfway through The Wake on Spotify, and I listened to all of Tales from the Lush Attic last night.  Not being a big fan of Marillion, I wasn't prepared to enjoy another English prog band from the same era.  But something about the sound of this band is REALLY hooking me.

Discuss.

[Nekov]

Why the hell didn't Lonestar create this thread long ago?

Go IQ! I don't love all of their work but they have a couple of albums that are very very good. I think I'll start revisiting their discography right now, it's been a while

[Nel]

I bought Frequency because it was featured in PROG Magazine years back and I liked the song. And I really enjoyed the album. I bought a used copy of Nomzamo afterward, and for cheesy 80s prog, it's a pretty fun record. That's about as far as my experience with IQ goes. The local record store has the reissue of The Wake, but it's the super deluxe $55 edition and there's no way I'm buying that. XD

Ryker Skies is fucking awesome. 

[lonestar]

Why the hell didn't Lonestar create this thread long ago?

It was actually the first thread I ever created here, it got 5 post and died a slow death.

As to IQ......*ahem*

The two early albums, Tales and The Wake, are thickly proggy and have a "green" atmosphere about them, the band is still trying to find there sound between the '80s pop and the neoprog elements. After The Wake, singer Peter Nichols leaves to do the solo project Naidem's Ghost, and Paul Menel takes over. They come out with Are  You Sitting Comfortably and Nomzamo. Both albums have good moments, but the pop sound seems to dominate too much for my taste. Nichols then returns, and they bust out with Ever, a brilliant album(3rd on my top 50) where they have commitied to the neoprog sound and have tightened completely as a band. Also, this is where Nichols voice comes into it's perfect maturity. Next is Subterrenea, a kick ass double concept album about a social experiment gone horribly awry, and a man who has been kept in isolation is let loose on society, only to seek out his keeper(soon to be a major motion picture). Next comes The Seventh House, a wonderful album, a bit lighter and more on the playful side. From there they move into Dark Matter, a heavy and seriously intense album. Their last effort was Frequency, which has been slowly growing into one of my favorites behind Ever and Subterrenea. The major forces are founders Mike Holmes on guitar and Martin Orford on keys(left after Dark Matter). Drummer Paul Cook is a fucking beast, one of my favorites, and Peter Nichols has the most emotionally expressive voice I know of.

And to uber geek myself out, also check out The Lens, it was the bands name before IQ, and Holmes and Orford went back and rerecorded a lot of the material, all instrumental. It's on Spotify as well.



Along with DT an Yes, IQ is my favorite band.

[King Postwhore]

I have 2 album and because of lonestar I feel the pressure to pick up all their albums and that's a good thing.

[Dr. DTVT]

Lots of great stuff.  I prefer Subterrania and Dark Matter a little more than Ever, but I've had those two albums the longest.  Subterrania is a 2 disc album that just flys by, it feels like a one disc album.  I rediscovered my love for them recently after kind of forgetting about them because I'm always buying new music.

[Nekov]

Hey Loney,  have you heard their first album? I think it was only released as a cassette.

[Jaq]

I love IQ. Love em to bits. My first album with them was Dark Matter, and I was floored by the 24 minute track Harvest of Souls, because, structurally, it might as well be called "We Really Like Supper's Ready A Lot", but yet it's still a magnificent epic and is one of my favorite plus 20 minute long songs ever. Frequency is great too-I got the special edition with a concert DVD, which kicks several shades of ass. They may have been one of the godfathers of neo-prog, but I think they shed that label ages ago, and are just a brilliant prog band period.

[lonestar]

Hey Loney,  have you heard their first album? I think it was only released as a cassette.

I know of it, not sure of the name or if it was te-released in some form.

[KevShmev]

I like a handful of songs by this band (mostly from Subterranea), but I generally do not get the love some have for this band.  I remember prog fans everywhere going bananas over Dark Matter when it came out, so I blindly bought the CD figuring it had to be good, and was majorly disappointed with it.

[Nekov]

Hey Loney,  have you heard their first album? I think it was only released as a cassette.

I know of it, not sure of the name or if it was te-released in some form.

It's called Seven Stories into Eight. I just checked and it seems it was re-released on 1998 in a 2 CD version, the first one is the original and the second CD contains the same songs but recorded again. The new version is called Seven Stories into Ninety Eight

[Ben_Jamin]

I love Subterranea and The Seventh House. Harvest of Souls and The Seventh House are the best things they've done. Alongside Closer and Awake and Nervous.

[lonestar]

Hey Loney,  have you heard their first album? I think it was only released as a cassette.

I know of it, not sure of the name or if it was te-released in some form.

It's called Seven Stories into Eight. I just checked and it seems it was re-released on 1998 in a 2 CD version, the first one is the original and the second CD contains the same songs but recorded again. The new version is called Seven Stories into Ninety Eight

Ok, I thought that was a compilation of unreleased tracks, like The Lost Attic was.

[Nekov]

I guess you know where to spend your money next 

[Nel]

Oh damn, I never even knew they re-released the cassette thing. Want. 

[The Letter M]

Looks like they're re-releasing a remixed version of "Tales From The Lush Attic", which includes the original "Seven Stories Into Eight" album from the cassette, as MP3 files on the 2nd disc/DVD.

https://www.iq-hq.co.uk/index.php/browse-by-year/2012/item/tales-from-the-lush-attic-2013-remix

Also, it seems IQ are also working on a new album for 2013!

-Marc.

[Nel]

Looks like they're re-releasing a remixed version of "Tales From The Lush Attic", which includes the original "Seven Stories Into Eight" album from the cassette, as MP3 files on the 2nd disc/DVD.

Oh. Well then screw the 1998 thing, I want this instead! 

[The Letter M]

Looks like they're re-releasing a remixed version of "Tales From The Lush Attic", which includes the original "Seven Stories Into Eight" album from the cassette, as MP3 files on the 2nd disc/DVD.

Oh. Well then screw the 1998 thing, I want this instead! 

You'd want the original, cassette-quality mp3s of the first album instead of a CD-quality version of the re-recorded first album?

Whatever floats your boat, but this is good if you don't already have TFTLA!

-Marc.

[Nel]

I missed that mp3 part. Now I retract that statement and return to my original one! Check mate!

[lonestar]

Also, it seems IQ are also working on a new album for 2013!

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ben_Jamin]

Also, it seems IQ are also working on a new album for 2013!

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly im more interested in P.U.L.S.E.

[lonestar]

Just received the 30th anniversary remix of Tales from the Lush Attic in the mail. Full album remix, three bonus tracks, full concert DVD, and a shit-ton of bonus mp3 tracks, including the original Seven Stories into Eight cassete and two just titled "unfinished song". The remix sounds absolutely pristine, fucking amazing.


Yeah, my productivity for the day just went down the shitter.

[ZKX-2099]

[lonestar]

Thread revival time bitches!!!! Why???


NEW ALBUM RELEASE DATE!!!!!!!!

May 3, 2014......ticktockticktockticktock.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8nLpWd9lps&feature=youtu.be

[The Letter M]

Thread revival time bitches!!!! Why???


NEW ALBUM RELEASE DATE!!!!!!!!

May 3, 2014......ticktockticktockticktock.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8nLpWd9lps&feature=youtu.be

SWEET! Always a welcome release when IQ comes out with a new album! Looking forward to this for 2014! Thanks for sharing!

-Marc.

[lonestar]

OK, so Mike Holmes, IQ's  guitarist, posted this on Facebook today.....




Now, I may be wrong, but it seems we are getting an album with almost 100 minutes of music. From someone else's post, the top part is the album proper, and the bottom part are for the deluxe edition. I may be wrong, just going by FB stuff, but since it's all in Holmes' post, I assume they are correct.



Fuck. Yes.

[Jaq]

Pardon me while I run around flailing wildly like Kermit the Frog. 

[lonestar]

I hear that man, I swear I smiled in my pants when I saw it.

[RoeDent]

I'm beginning to look into this band, as I'm starting to get into bands like Arena and Pendragon, and I'd put IQ in with them, along with Marillion. I don't know what the latest is on it, but it's interesting that their big rock opera Subterranea could be made into a film.

[lonestar]

Filming is finished, they're into post production. Don't know a release date though.

[Eldomm]

OK, so Mike Holmes, IQ's  guitarist, posted this on Facebook today.....




Now, I may be wrong, but it seems we are getting an album with almost 100 minutes of music. From someone else's post, the top part is the album proper, and the bottom part are for the deluxe edition. I may be wrong, just going by FB stuff, but since it's all in Holmes' post, I assume they are correct.

 

[Jaq]

Now that I stopped running around flailing wildly, if the column headed "Time" means what I think it means, there's a 20 minute song on the upcoming album. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Now that I stopped running around flailing wildly, if the column headed "Time" means what I think it means, there's a 20 minute song on the upcoming album. 

They do have numbers In row 9 column I, and row 15 column I.

[Mebert78]

Just checked out the song "Frequency" on YouToube after jammindude mentioned it on one of his videos.  Wow, good stuff.  Looking forward to hearing more.

[Ben_Jamin]

Just checked out the song "Frequency" on YouToube after jammindude mentioned it on one of his videos.  Wow, good stuff.  Looking forward to hearing more.

The album is excellent.