Iron Monkey is a sludge/doom metal band from the United Kingdom who formed in 1994. Their latest album “Spleen & Goad” is their fourth full-length album, in addition to a split album, an EP, and two compilations.
I missed out their initial run when they released their self-titled debut and the follow up “Our Problem,” both of which were well praised and are now considered classics. After their break up 1999 and the passing of original vocalist Johnny Marrow, the band returned in 017 with “9-13” and a new line up. Guitarist Jim Rushby took on vocal duties and bassist Steve Watson moved from guitars to bass. Original drummer Justin Greaves did not return. This album features Ze Big on the kit.
Flash forward to 2024 and the band is back with “Spleen & Goad,” a heavy hitter of an album if I ever heard one. Some might have noticed that there aren't any true surprises on the album, opting for a more direct approach instead of providing twists and turns. Does that matter? Hell no. This is sludge. Who listens to this style for music that goes off the beaten path? I want to be pummeled inside and out. “Spleen & Goad” does exactly what it is supposed to do and I don’t see anything wrong with that.
As with any good sludge album, this album is built up on riffs, riffs, and more riffs. From beginning to end, each song offers one thick slab of concrete after the next. The other part of a good sludge record is the rhythm section. This album has that in spades, both the drums and bass offering one of the heaviest, most dense performances you are going to find.
This is sick music for sick people. The entire album is brash, abrasive, and does give one iota of care who it offends or if anyone even likes it.
The album begins with “Misanthropizer,” and it is immediately the audio equivalent of being inside a bus when it slams into a wall. The vocals are pure gravel and grit, almost painful to hear. Good, what else is needed for an album/band like this? Absolutely nothing. The song, and this is indicative of the album as a whole, is at its best when everything fires on all cylinders and becomes a massive wall of sound. It is super intense and almost dizzying, with a prime example being the movement from 2:38 to 3:02.
“Csp” opens with bass that I’m pretty sure knocked some of my brain parts loose. Listening to this song with headphones may have been a mistake. The tempo on this one is more mid-paced, which is great because it lets every heavy second grind into the senses even further. I found this song to be nearly exhausting, such is its pernicious goal of devastating. A compliment for sure! The last couple minutes are a massive groove, not unlike a giant boulder gathering speed as it races to crush your body.
What kind of sludge album wouldn’t have any famous hardcore punk swagger and energy? “Rat Flag” brings the pain with that same pent of energy that is constantly exploding once it finally releases. Even when the song takes a faster approach, the band never loses its penchant for sweltering, brutal riffs.
“Exlexed,” is one of my favorite songs on the album; the tone is just so goddamn perfect. The riffs hit all the right spots, as do the drums which are insanely complimentary even while bringing their own brand of uncompromising attitude. The vocals are barked out like a rabid dog, adding even more insane layers to a song that is already as abrasive as a brillo pad being scraped against the skin.
The final song, “O.D. Rose'' is the shortest on the album and it's more of an outro than anything. It’s basically just noise but it works because it acts as the musical version of rubble and destruction, the broken remnants of a world that couldn’t stop its own demise.
With “Spleen & Goad,” Iron Monkey have released a mountainous album of sickening sludge and abrasive doom that is a special form of brutal. If you like riffs, intense music, or just stuff that goes against the grain for the hell of it, this is definitely one album you need.
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