"South Of The Earth" is the newest release for IRON MAN, American Doom Metal veterans. They've gone through many lineup changes since their inception, however they've always managed to keep their releases pretty constant, and this newest offering has them sounding as good as ever.

The first thing that I noticed when listening to this album was that it's not as sludgy or as grungy as I've heard some Doom Metal to be, but it's definitely still in the genre. Add to that the vocals being extremely clear, and you've got an interesting take on the style of music that does enough to make it stand out from albums of a similar ilk. The piano is used to great effect throughout the album, but most noticeably on the final track "The Ballad Of Roy Garraty". "South Of The Earth" has the sort of song lengths that you'd expect from Doom Metal, but the tempo of the songs is enough not to make it seem like they're dragging, which can be a fine balance to achieve, but IRON MAN do it well. And even when they do go quieter, such as in the 2 minute instrumental "Ariel Changed The Sky", a nice little guitar piece that breaks up the album well, whilst still keeping the tone of the album going.

The vocals are outstanding from the aptly named Screaming Mad Dee, ranging from guttural growls to metal screams (funnily enough). The majority of his singing settles somewhere in between these two points, but when he introduces one or the other, it's always to great effect. The guitars do an awesome job, with riffs that'll melt your brain, and some excellent melodies. There's some brilliant songwriting on display here, with lyrics that you've got to listen to a few times to fully understand the depth to them - not that that's a bad thing. I'd quite gladly give this album lots of listens, and probably find something new each time. They build up the atmosphere well, and it all just together just so to make sweet overall package.

Don't be put off by the Doom Metal label, because it's just different enough to please even the skeptics I think. Nevertheless, it was an album that I enjoyed a lot, and one which shows the band at the top of their game.