Photo by Kat Hickey
UK sludge trio IRON MONKEY returns with their latest full-length, Spleen & Goad, out now on Relapse Records! Listen on all streaming services HERE.
On Spleen & Goad, the legendary band is as uncompromising as ever, churning out some of the grittiest sounding sludge doom in their twenty-five-plus year history. Dubbed a “doom sludge vanguard” by The Sludgelord, IRON MONKEY lives up to their legacy, absolutely pummeling through each of the nine tracks on their new album.
From the two-ton, heavier-than-anything-else riff opening “Concrete Shock,” IRON MONKEY shows 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.
Recorded in their native Nottingham, Spleen & Goad was mastered stateside by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.
Order Spleen & Goad on LP, CD, and digital formats via Relapse.com HERE.
Watch IRON MONKEY’s previously released video for first single, “Misanthropizer,” HERE.
IRON MONKEY was formed in the year 1994AD in the city of Nottingham, England. The original members were J.P. Morrow, J. Rushby, D. Dalziel, S. Watson, and J. Greaves. IRON MONKEY released six tracks of raw sludge-core via the label Union Mill that were later re-released on Earache Records. During this period S. Watson was replaced by D. Berry.
1998 saw the release of the album Our Problem, widely regarded as a masterpiece of negative rock. This was succeeded by a split EP on Man’s Ruin Records with Church Of Misery from Japan.
IRON MONKEY destroyed itself sometime in 1999. Vocalist J. Morrow died from heart failure in June 2002. Rest In Noise…
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 is back with a new lineup featuring founding member J. Rushby and D. Berry from the Our Problem sessions and ex-Widows drummer Z. Big.
“…when it comes to sounding like an army of pissed-off gorillas let loose in an amplifier factory, there is still no one else that comes close.” — Blabbermouth
“Stripped back, raw, and primitive… For a band self-described as a way to annoy as many people as possible, this album will certainly repel all but true sludge heads. These guys hit hard and mean, and suitably dispel comparisons to the glory days with pure ruthless aggression.” — MetalSucks
“IRON MONKEY are back again, and still spreading their joyously antisocial and malevolent noise like a plague of locusts for the sheer fuck of it, and long may they continue. This is IRON MONKEY, this is Spleen & Goad, it is primal noise at its most purifying level and this time, it’s rawer and angrier than ever.” — Distorted Sound
“…a solid slab of ugly nihilism put to music. IRON MONKEY showcases a fantastic collection of tracks, which belong side by side with the rest of the discography and do the bands and legacy a service.” — The Razor’s Edge Rocks
“Fans of Eyehategod, Crowbar and the like will find that the muddy riffs of IRON MONKEY hit the spot, and while some of the riffing on ‘Concrete Shock’ take on the ‘90s stoner vibe of a Kyuss or Fu Manchu. You can also hear the influence of Motorhead or The Sex Pistols within the marching rhythm.” — Ghost Cult
“Keep all your fragile items out of arm’s length with this one.” — Metal Digest
“Spleen & Goad is essentially a ball of anger and nastiness, held together with all of the sludge metal riffs, and ripe with splenetic vocals that spit, rage, and spew invective all over the shop.” –Wonderbox Metal
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