South of the Earth

Iron Man 'South of the Earth'

    Iron Man are one of those bands that have been around for awhile that I haven't ever really gotten into all that much. They had a CD out several years ago that I listened to a few times but it failed to make much of an impression. The band had a good sound but the songs just weren't all that good. That's been my opinion of the overwelming majority of rock and metal acts for the longest time now. It's got to be a tremendous task to write something that sounds more original than it does derivative.

    Guitarist Alfred Morris III is the driving force behind the band, it's very much his baby. And what an exceptional guitarist he is, his sound is precise, soulful, and scorching. 'Screaming Mad' Dee Calhoun has a powerful throat and makes for a competent frontman. The overall sound on 'South of the Earth' is far too groovy to call this a Doom Metal release. Much credit can be given to the rhythm section, Louis Strachan on bass and Jason Waldmann on the drums.

    For the sake of comparison, I'd have to look to the groundbreaking Kyuss release 'Blues for the Red Sun'. That's very apparant on track three 'A Whore in Confession' and remains throughout the entire CD. I'd not label these guys as Kyuss rip-offs or anything like that, but the likeness is a consistency. Kyuss were one of my all-time favorite bands, so the comparison is more complimentary than anything else. (It's not a matter of my listening to Iron Man and thinking "Hey, they lifted that part from Freedom Run ...")

    The lyrical content is very much Doom Metal with familiar Christian/Catholic and Lovecraft subject matter. That's all well and good here, but those things can become tedious after awhile. Especially when the music is equally uninspired, which is not the case here. (Perhaps someone should redo a classic Sabbath number and rechristen it 'A Tired Road' to properly and effectively address the problem.)

    I like 'South of the Earth' enough to recommend it to any Kyuss and Black Sabbath fans out there. It's a pretty solid release with 'A Whore In Confession' being one of those ageless classics. The title track is monumental as well.