IRON MAN Generation Void - 2011 reissue deluxe CD+DVD edition of classic 1999 Doom Metal album
Format: CD+DVD Condition: New Year of Release: 2011 Cat. No.: 045 Label: Shadow Kingdom
For clarity, Iron Man's 'Generation Void' is a reissue of the same album from 1999 on Brain Ticket Records. This reissue contains bonus rehearsal tracks and a fan filmed concert DVD from 1999 at Phantasmagoria in Wheaton, Maryland. This incarnation of the band had Ginger on bass and Dan Michalak on vocals. The principal and guitarist Alfred Morris III remains the significant constant.
Their name gives more than a small clue as to their sound. Once more, on 'Generation Void', we have classic heavy metal merged with doom and stoner metal. It's that simple. Then you might hear a little blues now and then, but I could be hoping for the best.
Actually, Iron Man are damn good at what they do, and Morris is a fine fret man. Call me politically and socially incorrect for this observation, I find it compelling and entertaining that a black (Afro-American, if you wish) man opts to play metal against the hip-hop and rap of his contemporaries. Morris is akin to Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz, but still entirely his own person.
As mentioned above, this package also includes a DVD of Iron Man playing live at Phantasmagoria in Wheaton, Maryland.
Kudos to Shadow Kingdom Records for this prime co-package at a reasonable price. While the performance is rather rigid, the players basically stand in place the entire time, its a fine chronicle of a working band in a live element. Incredibly, despite the amateur footage, Iron Man sounds great: you get a real sense of the band's command of their chosen genre, but also Morris' strong guitar skills.
It's nice to have this reissue of Iron Man's 1999 'Generation Void', especially since it includes a gritty live concert DVD. My wish, however, is that the band, with cooperation from Shadow Kingdom Records, would bring new material to light.
Review by Craig Hartranft.
TRACK LISTING:
CD:
1. On The Mountain 2. Boston Strangler 3. Survivor 4. King Of Kings 5. Winds Of Change 6. Generation Void 7. As The Gods Have Spoken 8. Ironica Blue 9. Forever Yours 10. Shadows Of Darkness 11. Juggernaut 12. Generation Void (bonus rehearsal track) 13. Forever Yours (bonus rehearsal track) 14. On The Mountain (bonus rehearsal track) 15. As The Gods Have Spoken (bonus rehearsal track)
DVD:
Live Phantasmagoria, Wheaton, Maryland 12/31/99 :
1. On The Mountain 2. Leaving Town 3. Boston Strangler 4. Generation Void 5. Forever Yours 6. King Of Kings 7. Harvest Of Earth 8. Unjust Reform 9. As The Gods Have Spoken 10. Iron Warrior 11. Survivor 12. Black Night 13. Into The Void
