Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus Rebrand as JIRM; Surge ex Monumentis Due in March
As much as I’d like to think it was some interference from the actor himself that caused Swedish heavy rockers Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus to change their moniker — both because of his abhorrent views on homosexuality and because he’s the most easily forgotten villain in the Die Hard franchise — that probably wasn’t the case. To be fair, it was a pretty cumbersome name, and JIRM gets the job done anyhow.
Four records deep might seem like an odd time for a group to rebrand, but the Stockholm four-piece actually have a significant sonic shift in store with the forthcoming Surge ex Monumentis as well, trading off boogie vibes for more progressive fare that’s decidedly metallic in its foundation. Enough so, in fact, to make me wonder if the similarity between the figure on the Mattias Halldin cover art and Dio‘s classic mascot, Murray, isn’t a coincidence.
If it isn’t, I just don’t want to be the last in line to know.
Sorry.
Just. Sorry.
I couldn’t help it.
Here’s news from the PR wire:
JIRM: Swedish Heavy Rockers Formerly Known As Jeremy Irons And The Ratgang Malibus To Release Surge Ex Monumentis Via Small Stone This March; New Track Streaming + Preorders Available
Sometimes in life you have to make a change. And sometimes you have to make a whole bunch of changes. So it is that JIRM is born and stands where once stood Jeremy Irons And The Ratgang Malibus. Having dropped the cumbersome moniker, the Swedish heavy rockers embark on a new era with Surge Ex Monumentis – marked as much by a tightening of sound as name.
For their first record as JIRM, the Stockholm-based four-piece of vocalist/guitarist Karl Apelmo, guitarist Micke Pettersson, bassist Viktor Källgren, and drummer Henke Persson cast off the shackles of expectation entirely. Their style is no less expansive, but it’s become entirely their own, a driving mind meld between psychedelia, classic metal, heavy rock, and individualized realms beyond. Surge Ex Monumentis brims with newfound energy at the same time it benefits from the lessons JIRM have learned since first getting together in 2004 and releasing albums like Elefanta (2009), Bloom (2011), and Spirit Knife (2014).
With as much progressive force as raw sweat behind them, JIRM has never been more themselves than they are on Surge Ex Monumentis, and even as they redefine who they are and what they do as a band, they remain singularly powerful in their delivery and completely unmistakable. The seven-track offering was captured at Puch Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, mixed by Oskar Lindberg at Svenska Grammofonstudion in Gothenburg, Sweden and mastered by Chris Gooseman at Baseline Audio Labs in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Surge Ex Monumentis will see release on CD, digital, and limited edition 2xLP formats via Small Stone on March 16th. Preorders are currently available at THIS LOCATION where you can also stream opening psalm, “Candle Eyes.”
Surge Ex Monumentis Track Listing:
1. Candle Eyes
2. Dig
3. Isle Of Solitude
4. The Cultist
5. Nature Of The Damned
6. Giza
7. Tombs Arise
http://www.facebook.com/JeremyIronsandtheRatgangMalibus
https://www.instagram.com/jirm_band/
http://www.jirm.se/
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/
