Are Iron Monkey Reuniting?
Why would they take a new lineup picture if they weren’t?
I’ve heard Iron Monkey quoted as one of the UK’s least likely reunions. Between former drummer Justin Greaves moving on to a host of outfits including Crippled Black Phoenix and the June 2002 death of vocalist Johnny Morrow, one had to agree the prospects weren’t great. And while I don’t have confirmation of anything in the works in terms of recordings, new material, shows, fest appearances or anything more to go on than a new photo of guitarists Jim Rushby and Steve Watson and drummer Brigga below and the concise first post they put up on a new, seemingly-official Thee Facebooks page, again, it brings back the question above: Why would they bother even going that far if they weren’t reactivating on some level?
Hard to estimate the impact of Iron Monkey‘s two studio full-lengths — 1996’s Iron Monkey and 1998’s Our Problem (box set review here) — because, quite frankly, that impact is still spreading. Their foundation in hardcore echoed US bands like Buzzov*en and Eyehategod to an extent, but in a pre-social media era, Iron Monkey formed in 1994 and immediately set about conveying a rawness all their own. That would lead to their being picked up by Earache Records after a first issue of their self-titled debut in ’97 — the label put it out again in ’97 — and Our Problem behind it, and while that pair, a 1999 split with Church of Misery and 2002’s Ruined by Idiots live compilation would comprise their total discography (to-date), an entire generation of acts has continued to walk the path that Iron Monkey helped forge.
So what’ll it be? Festival appearances seem most likely, but I wouldn’t speculate as to what and when. Needless to say, nailing down an Iron Monkey reunion is a coup for anyone who’s managed to do it, and until we know more about what’s to come, the only thing to do is keep watch for info as it arrives.
Interested to know as well what Earache has to say about it. For now, this is what we have to go on:
Hello shitheads.
https://www.facebook.com/IRONMONKEYBAND/
