| Iron Man | |
|---|---|
 Iron Man in the 2010s. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA |
| Genres | Doom Metal, Traditional Doom |
| Years active | 1988 - 2018 |
| Labels | Hellhound Records, Rise Above Records, Leaf Hound Records, Shadow Kingdom Records, Argonauta Records |
| Associated acts | Force, Unorthodox, Wretched, Valkyrie, Spirit Caravan, Internal Void, Mangog, Rat Salad, Obstination |
Iron Man was a doom metal band originating from Maryland. Evolving from the doom metal bands Force and Rat Salad, along with originally being a Black Sabbath cover band, eventually started writing original material by 1993 with their first album Black Night.
Iron Man were considered to be one of the key players in the Maryland Doom Metal scene and the American Traditional Doom Metal scene with guitarist Al Morris III as the band's nucleus from 1988 - 2018.
History[]
Iron Man evolved from earlier Alfred Morris III projects Force and Rat Salad. In 1988 the band decided to become a Black Sabbath cover band and changed their name to Iron Man but over time begin to compose original songs. The band would then gain attention of German label Hellhound Records and put out their first two albums on the label: Black Night in 1993 and The Passage in 1994. In 1999 the band released their third studio album Generation Void via Brainticket. Each album has had a new line-up with Morris being the only constant throughout the years.
At the beginning of 2000 Iron Man embarked on a 20 city U.S. tour which ended prematurely with two band members (Michalak and Tomaso) leaving. Temporary bassist ViiX recruited two additional temps (Jared Rein on drums and Jadd of MeteorCity Records founder on vocals) for the tour. She also provided a van for the band to use & did various photography & artwork. They resumed touring up until April 2000. This line up played their last show on April 1, 2000 at the Emerson Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2006, a bootleg recording of Iron Man surfaced entitled Iron Man: Live in Cincinnati. This concert was one of the very few performed on the ill-fated 2000 U.S. Tour. The show was recorded on February 9, 2000 at Annie's Saloon in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the last show ever with Dan Michalak & Vic Tomaso.
In 2004 Iron Man re-focused and became active once again. Morris had recruited new band members, one of which, Jon Owen, was from London, England. This caused problems when they tried to make their first comeback show on July 9, 2005 at the Templars of Doom Festival held in Indianapolis. Jon Owen was unable to secure a proper visa in time and was going through a series of personal problems as well. Ex-members of Maryland doom bands Wretched and Life Beyond (Louis Strachan on bass and Gus Basilika on drums) were recruited for the rhythm section. After a long search Joe Donnelly of Sabbra Cadabra (a Black Sabbath tribute band) would join. Iron Man was booked for the Doom Or Be Doomed Festival to be held over three days in Baltimore, Maryland on the weekend of April 13-15th, 2007. Just a month before the show, Basilika left the band over musical differences. Former Force drummer Brian "Dex" Dexter filled Basilika's spot. With the new line up intact the band finally made their comeback show as planned on April 15 at the Doom or Be Doomed Festival. Soon after, the band released the self-produced CDEP Submission.
In 2007, Leaf Hound Records began re-released the first two albums originally released on Hellhound Records. Both albums have been remastered. The Passage was re-released on CD. In 2008, Black Night was released on LP with plans to re-release the CD version in the future. And in 2009, Al Morris III guided yet another new lineup of Iron Man into the studio to record the band's fourth album I Have Returned, released by Shadow Kingdom Records.
2010 saw the departure of drummer Dex Dexter and vocalist Joseph Donnelly, who were replaced by drummer Mike Rix and vocalist "Screaming Mad" Dee Calhoun (ex-After Therapy & Land Of Doom). Despite this change the band still performed notable shows alongside A Storm of Light and Sleep and made an appearance at Hammer of Doom Festival in Germany. This new lineup quickly recorded and released the self-produced Dominance EP in early 2011.
On January 15, 2012, Iron Man posted the following announcement on their Facebook page: "Iron Man are happy to announce Jason 'Mot' Waldmann as the band's new permanent drummer. Mot, a longtime friend and fan of Iron Man, recently performed with the band in a fill-in basis, and based on his performance and his friendship and chemistry with the band, has been awarded the full-time position. Iron Man graciously thanks everyone who auditioned; the response was huge, and the choice was far from easy. The evidence of the richness of the talent pool regarding drummers within the MD/VA/DC region was evident during these auditions. Everyone, please welcome Mot to the Iron Man family as we look forward to a very successful 2012!" That summer, Iron Man released their att hålla dig över EP.
On February 4, 2013, Iron Man announced that they were about to begin recording their fifth full-length album, and that they would again be working with Frank Marchand, who engineered I Have Returned. The resulting album, South of the Earth, was released in the UK/Europe on September 30, 2013 via Rise Above Records, and in North America on October 1, 2013 via Metal Blade Records. The band toured the US that spring with Yesterday's Saints and would close out that year with an appearance in England for Rise Above Records' 25th Anniversary Shows.
On 10 January 2018 Al Morris III passed away aged 60, ending the band. Multiple benefit shows would be held throughout the month to pay for medical and funeral costs with many of the doom community paying tribute. Iron Man, with guitarist Bill Miskowitz, would play one final show on 17 February 2018 at the Jeffersonian Patriotic Club in Frederick, MD as part of a benefit for Morris.
Discography[]
Studio Album[]
- Black Night (1993, Hellhound)
- The Passage (1994, Hellhound)
- Generation Void (1999, Brainticket)
- I Have Returned (2009, Shadow Kingdom)
- South of the Earth (2013, Rise Above)
EPs[]
- Submission (2007, Self-Released)
- Iron Man Shall Rise (2010, Self-Released)
- Dominance (2011, Self-Released)
- Att hålla dig över (2012, Self-Released)
Misc. Releases[]
- Demo 1988 (1988, Self-Released)
- Demo 1992 (1992, Self-Released)
- Live in Cincinnati (2006, Self-Released)
- Live in Cincinnati 2000 (2008, Bland Hand)
- Hail To The Riff (2021, Argonauta Records)
Members[]
- Al Morris III - Guitars (1988 - 2018) (Died 2018)
- Rob Levey - Vocals (1993)
- JJ Takala - Vocals
- Dan Michalak - Vocals (1994 - 2000)
- Jadd Schickler - Vocals (Live) (2000)
- Joe Donnelly - Vocals (2006 - 2010)
- Larry Brown - Bass (1993 - 1994)
- Ginger - Bass (1999)
- ViiX - Bass (Live) (2000)
- Ron Kalimon - Drums (1993)
- Gary Isom - Drums (1994)
- Vic Tomaso - Drums (1999 - 2000)
- Jared Rein - Drums (Live) (2000)
- Gus Basilika - Drums
- Louis Strachan - Bass (2006 - 2018)
- Dex Dexter - Drums (2006 - 2010)
- Mike Rix - Drums (2010 - 2011)
- Dee Calhoun - Vocals (2010 - 2018)
- Jason Waldmann aka Mot - Drums (2012 - 2018)
- Bill Miskowitz - Guitar (2018)