IQ: The Road Of Bones Special Edition (digipack) [2CD]

In the revolving doors world of British prog, The Road Of Bones marks IQ's return to the future. The album sees the comeback of original bass player Tim Esau and (almost) original drummer Paul Cook, along the stable articulation of Mike Holmes and Peter Nicholls, the former providing his trademark guitar elegance, the latter his balance of vocal moodiness and tension. IQ adds a newcomer on keys and Neil Durant does a very good job of it, following Mark Westworth who had carried a lot of Frequency's vibe and of course IQ's historical keyboardist Martin Orford. The Road of Bones is therefore the reformation of the Tales From The Lush Attic line-up, with Durant swapping for Orford. What strikes first is Tim Esau's powerful presence on bass throughout the album. As soon as the intro of the first song, From The Outside In, is done with its sampling of Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Esau starts driving the track and does not stop. His harder edge than before is a highlight perhaps because, while he created the job, the ubiquitous John Jowitt had done a stellar work with it for close to twenty years.