IQ's Road of Bones: 14th all-time best prog LP/CD?

[Jon]

I just noticed the position of the latest IQ LP in the best-of listing at Prog Archives. Comments?

[smcfee]

If they had just used a little more Mellotron it might have made 13th

[Rael]

I'm not hearing what everyone else is hearing on the latest IQ album. It's not bad or anything but I do find it pretty slow going until the middle of "Without Walls". Also, I wish IQ wouldn't place so much emphasis on lyrics, but that's been my complaint since at least Dark Matter.

[jarmsuh]

i agree as now it's my favorite IQ by a slight margin, because the band doesn't make mediocre albums.

[Scrotum Scissor]

As a collector of "prog" anno 1967-2014 with an emphasis on its global development (90% of it has not come out of the UK/US), I've found IQ's latest to be my 3247. fave album of that.

[emperorken]

I agree that this is another excellent release by IQ, and it certainly is my #1 for 2014. However, I would not even consider this to be the best IQ album, for which I would give that honor to "Dark Matter".

I think the fact that this album is much heavier than anything they've done before has induced many of the prog metal fans to rate this album highly. But they've also kept enough of their traditional style to keep the long time fans happy.

[Progatron]

It's #14 right now largely due to the fact that it has only 368 ratings so far. It will drop down somewhat as time goes on.

[Rufus]

its not even in IQ's top 14

[davef]

Been listening to this cd lately...it's a real grower!! At first it didn't impress me....has really grown on me!!!

dave

[progeezer]

I really like this album, but other than IQ & Marillion, I really don't have any neo bands that still appeal to me that much.

[JKL2000]

I really like this album, but other than IQ & Marillion, I really don't have any neo bands that still appeal to me that much.

Try the new Iluvitar.

[Superfly]

It's an album that deserves all the praise. IQ step up, time after time, delivering the goods. And the last few albums have all made my top ten in the years they were released. This year will be no exception.

[LEG-art]

It's an album that deserves all the praise. IQ step up, time after time, delivering the goods. And the last few albums have all made my top ten in the years they were released. This year will be no exception.

Agreed, I cannot list one prog band that has been so consistently great in the last 2 decades. Bravo IQ! Looking foward to the movie!

[snowsnow]

I think Road of Bones is a superb album - probably just edging out Dark Matter as my favourite IQ album. Really enjoying it and is easily up there with the best albums of 2014 (no:2 currently for me).

But I would be surprised if most people on here (including us IQ fans) couldn't reel off at the very least 20-30 + albums that would surpass Road of Bones.

[progeezer]

Try the new Iluvitar.

I will more than likely buy it, since I have every other Iluvatar album, and also want to support Jim R.

[TheH]

Although I don't think it's a bad album at all, I wouldn't rate it much higher than Scrotum Scissor in my collection.

I also like the Bonus disc a little more than the actual album.

[Garden Dreamer]

i agree as now it's my favorite IQ by a slight margin, because the band doesn't make mediocre albums.

Didn't you mean to say a NARROW margin???

[SteveSly]

It's an album that deserves all the praise. IQ step up, time after time, delivering the goods. And the last few albums have all made my top ten in the years they were released. This year will be no exception.

Very well said.

[Paulrus]

It's ProgArchives, which as I recall is dominated by a bunch of Dutch/French/German/Belgian dudes. Of course they think IQ is the shizznit. I do too, but number 14 overall? Not by a long shot.

[Fracktured]

I was about to give up on them but find this one to be one of their best. A real pleasant surprise for me. And I don't care for much neo other than maybe iq and Illuvatar.

[georob]

Sometimes brand new albums, that have alot of current interest, tend to initially come in (perhaps artifically) high on Progarchives Top 100; before later stttling back down after the "honeymoon phase" is over.
Not to say that Road of Bones will definitely fall............it's a great album by a great band..............but I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped back a bit over time.

[mellotron storm]

Sometimes brand new albums, that have alot of current interest, tend to initially come in (perhaps artifically) high on Progarchives Top 100; before later stttling back down after the "honeymoon phase" is over.
Not to say that Road of Bones will definitely fall............it's a great album by a great band..............but I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped back a bit over time.

It's at 24 right now and will continue to fall over time.

[chalkpie]

I've never heard it but its my favorite album of all time.

[jkelman]

Just got it, and while I think rating it as one of the best Prog albums of all time is a tad premature,I will say this:I picked up,the two-disc edition and it is easily my favorite IQ album ever. There's an energy and edge that is new, and I think it's just flat-out some of the group's best writing ever.

I do think it's quite remarkable that some groups these says are putting out some of the best music of their careers, not in their early days as is so often the case, but well into them. I am thinking of IQ, Opeth, Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, all of whom have long and exceptional careers but who have really been demonstrating themselves to be at the absolute too of their game these days. Add to that lust the latest Travis & Fripp, which takes the strengths of Follow and builds upon them even further.

And while he is working his Genesis Revisited hard, and thus not delivering new material, credit where credit is due to Steve Hackett for continuing to breathe new life into an old repertoire that hasn't sounded this good since...well...since he was last in the band...if not better, because he's affording his very fine current group more freedom than Genesis ever did, thus making one night different from the next; so, even though there will be some set list changes there will also be a lot of the same material but I don't care, I will see them and cover the show again when they come to Ottawa at the end of November. And do a follow-up interview with Steve to discuss how he views the material now, after playing it on the road for nearly two years.

I think it's been a damn good yesr for progressive music. There have been a lot of new discoveries for me as well.

[Interstellar]

I do think it's quite remarkable that some groups these says are putting out some of the best music of their careers, not in their early days as is so often the case, but well into them.

Agreed, and I would add to your list Marillion (with Sounds...), Wishbone Ash (with Blue Horizon), and Deep Purple (with Now What ?!) among others.
IQ's latest is a remarkable achievement in my opinion too. I can't find a weak moment on the two-disc edition, which is incredible given the length of the whole thing.