Spiral Grave: New Band Brings Together Members of Iron Man and Lord
The surviving members of Iron Man have announced a new project together, as vocalist “Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun, bassist Louis Strachan and drummer Jason “Mot” Waldmann have joined with guitarist Willy Rivera, who until this past summer was one of the essential figures behind heavy thrashers Lord. The new band is called Spiral Grave, and it will mark the first outing from Waldmann, Strachan and Calhoun together since the death last January of Iron Man founder “Iron” Alfred Morris III. Calhoun and Strachan — the latter of whom seems to have inherited the “Iron“ in front of his name, and rightly so — have continued working together on Calhoun‘s solo-project, but Spiral Grave seems much more of a full-band entity than the singer-songwriter-gone-metal-isms of Dee‘s two to-date records.
Iron Man‘s final album was 2013’s South of the Earth (review here), issued by Rise Above Records and a fitting-if-unfortunate capstone on the band’s career of more than 20 years. Lord meanwhile announced their breakup last year even as they were getting ready to release their finest album in Desperation Finds Hunger in All Men (review here), which found their oft-chaotic approach on its most solid ground while giving up none of it razor-sharp edge. Spiral Grave would seem to draw from both sides in terms of its groove, though at least in the posted rehearsal room demo for “Nothing,” the band seems to lean much more toward doom than extreme sludge or thrash, as Lord sometimes would.
But they’re a new band, so it’s up in the air where their sound and exploration of influences might take them. They’re reportedly set to hit the studio next month for a single, and then I suppose it’s on from there. The start of a New Year is always supposed to hold some kind of promise of good things to come, so here’s this:
Spiral Grave is the collaboration of the members of two legendary mid-Atlantic bands: Iron Man, who disbanded in early 2018 following the death of their guitarist and founder Al Morris III, and Lord.
In mid-2018, former Lord guitarist Willy Rivera reached out to longtime friend and former Iron Man voice “Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun about forming a new project, something that Willy described as “doom meets Dehumanizer.” Former Iron Man rhythm section “Iron” Louis Strachan (bass) and Jason “Mot” Waldmann (drums) came onboard, and Spiral Grave was born.
In February 2019, Spiral Grave will record their first single, and will take to the live stage.
Spiral Grave is:
Screaming Mad Dee – voice
Willy Rivera – guitars
“Iron” Louis Strachan – bass
Jason “Mot” Waldmann – drums
https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
