Iron Monkey announce new record, Spleen & Goad, out on April 5th via Relapse Records

Iron Monkey was formed in the year 1994 in the city of Nottingham, England, with its original members being J.P. Morrow, J. Rushby, D. Dalziel, S. Watson and J. Greaves. Iron Monkey released 6 tracks of raw sludgecore via the label Union Mill that were later re-released on Earache Records, and during this period, S. Watson was replaced by D. Berry. 1998 saw the release of the record, Our Problem, widely regarded as a masterpiece of negative rock, which was succeeded by a split EP on Man’s Ruin Records alonsigde Japan’s own doom metal masters Church Of Misery. In 1999, the same year as the release of the aforementioned EP, Iron Monkey destroyed itself, and vocalist J. Morrow later passed away from heart failure in June 2002.

The band reformed in the Winter of 2016 with original members J. Rushby and S. Watson with the addition of the then Chaos UK drummer Brigga. As of 2023, Iron Monkey are back with a new lineup featuring founding member J. Rushby, D. Berry from the Our Problem sessions, and ex-Widows drummer Z. Big. On their upcoming record, Spleen & Goad, the legendary band are as uncompromising as ever, churning out some of the most gritty sounding sludge doom in their over 25-year history. Dubbed a “doom sludge vanguard” by The Sludgelord, Iron Monkey live up to their legacy, absolutely pummeling through each of the 9 tracks on their new album. From the two-ton, heavier-than-anything-else riff opening “Concrete Shock”, Iron Monkey show no signs of easing up – fuzzed out guitars crash against pulse-pounding drums, set against vicious, misanthropic snarls and barks. Elsewhere, tracks like the aptly titled “Rat Flag” kicks the band into high gear with palpable fury and malaise. Below this article you can listen and watch the video to the record’s single, “Misanthropizer”.

Photo credit: Kat Hickey