Search - Iron Man :: Generation Void

All Hail Sabbath Style Doom Metal!

urtasa | Indiana, United States | 01/21/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Iron Man is hailed widely in underground doom metal circles for its tone-perfect, classic-era Black Sabbath-styled doom hymns. It's been quite some time since their previous under-rated album, "The Passage," was unleashed on the now defunct Hellhound Records label (former home of doom heavyweights Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Revelation, Count Raven, and Unorthodox). Weathering numerous line-up changes and financial difficulties, the band returns in top form with its third full-length album, "Generation Void," on Solitude Aeturnus guitarist John Perez's Brainticket Records label. Surely the band's strongest release yet, Iron Man releases 11 bluesy doom anthems sure to have any Iommi or Hendrix worshipper begging for more. Guitarist Al Morris is the modern equivalent of Tony Iommi circa the mid-70s. It's a damn shame he isn't more well-known. Of particular interest to me are the non-typical vocals of Dan Michalak. They are nothing like the standard doom metal vocal style. Michalak is a crystal-clear clean vocalist with a strong power metal vibe. A less high-pitched Rob Halford crossed with Sabbath-era Tony Martin is how I'd describe his style. Stand-out tracks include the mind-numbing "Shadows Of Darkness," with its excellent chorus, "On The Mountain," a reworked Force (Morris' previous band) tune, the grooving "Master Of Reality"-era soundalike "Boston Strangler," and the excellent bombastic instrumental drum solo track "Juggernaut." I've read a number of music critics lambasting this Vic Tomaso drum solo as excessive, but forget 'em. It's quite good, and was recorded in only one take. Sometimes we need excess in our lives from time to time. Overall, this is a great album with plenty of variations, though it doesn't cover much new ground. Retro doom rockers and Black Sabbath fanatics will get the most out of this. Doom on, Iron Man, doom on!"