I am not a complete novice when it comes to Metal genres that are not really widely known and/or appreciated. Sludge is one of them, and I have reviewed and enjoyed some really impressive albums over the years that for this genre. Now it is time for another one. IRON MONKEY was formed in the year 1994 in the city of Nottingham, England. They released 6 tracks of raw sludge-core with the title “Iron Monkey” in 1996 via the label Union Mill that were later re-released on Earache Records. The next bit of Sludge came to fruition in 1998 and is usually named as their break through record. I am talking about “Our Problem”. Unforunately IRON MONKEY destroyed itself sometime in 1999. Original vocalist J. Morrow died from heart failure in June 2002. The band reformed in the winter of 2016 and have been going ever since. That resulted in the album “9-13” in 2017, now in 2024 followed by “Spleen & Goad”. As for their musical direction, that has never wavered, it still is Noisy Sludge with unfathomable vocals that is keeping me awake while listening.

If you are not familiar with IRON MONKEY and you either have a sensitive disposition, or if you are depressed or even worse, I would advise you to stay away from “Spleen & Goad”. This is everything but happy music, this is as oppressing as I feel is humanly possible. The repetition factor that IRON MONKEY uses only adds to the desolate atmosphere. But if you are a shoegazer, an emo sufferer or just a miserable sod, this might be just up your (darkened) alley. The sound that you get on “Spleen & Goad” is dark, moody and very menacing. Plus, it really isn't exactly HiFi. No, it's not LoFi either, but somewhere in between. No filters have been used or added, but most importantly all the edges that might hurt you in one way or other have been retained. This results in an IRON MONKEY that could almost be classed as lethal. And it would have been, if the songs would have had more substance. Now they are just about producing noises without adding any body, be it dead or alive. And that is a pity, as I feel this could have been lot better if more songs would have been like “Rat Flag”, where the band actually adds more layers to the music, making me finally take notice. I really would have liked to heasr more of those moments and songs, but alas.