Review by Felix on December 4, 2019.

Another ambitious formation from the German underground challenges the worldwide metal community. Its name indicates its main influence in a matter of seconds (although they use, unlike Exodus, the German version of "disaster") and the rasping guitars of the opener leave no doubt that pure thrash without modern ingredients is on the agenda. The second song with the promising title "Faster than Light" also swings the old school axe and therefore we do not need to discuss about the target group of this publication. Fans of the early albums of Exodus, Forbidden or Atrophy, it's your turn, while followers of Machine Head and similar hypocrites can go to bed. Sleep well, my friends with a bad taste, you will miss nothing.

First things first, Fabulous Desaster impress with a very solid energy level. The debut sounds angry, fresh and restless, inter alia because of the production. It puts the emphasis on the continuously slicing guitars without losing the big picture. Any kind of technical awkwardness is unknown to the debutants and this is not a matter of course, even when considering the modern recording options. The sound also features the lead vocals in an adequate manner. Neither too loud nor suppressed, the talkative guy behind the mic delivers his fairly high-pitched vocals. During the entire full-length, he seems to be constantly at risk to go mad and his sometimes-screeching voice has enough power and expressiveness to convey this slightly insane feeling in a convincing manner. Only the unbeatable performance of godfather Paul Baloff (R.I.P.) remains untouched, although the band mentions his name in one of the songs.

It goes without saying that these defenders of the thrashing faith like high velocity. The integration of some mid-paced parts increases the dynamic, but trudging rhythms do not play a role. Just like the pinpoint drums, the abrasive guitars also intensify the fury of the compositions. "Midnight Fistfight" shows the entire potential of the newcomers. Fiery, compelling riffs form the irate verses, the pithy chorus stands out and even the less angry solo part appeals to me. Perhaps some detractors might say that the album offers a very generic kind of thrash, but these ugly boneheads have bad breath and weeping eczemas at the back of the neck. Fabulous Desaster just play thrash the way it was meant to be and there is nothing condemnable about this approach. Song titles such as "Thrash Bang Wallop" or "Thrash Metal Symphony" do not entice the listener with sensitive lyrics, but they ask for an appropriate implementation. And yes, the debutants are aware of this fact. In particular the "Symphony" - don't be fooled by its name, there is absolutely no orchestral bullshit - unleashes a remarkable storm and it does not matter that its verses are similar to those of Exodus' "Raze".

Finally, the four guys originate from Bonn. Back in the days of the Cold War, this was the seat of government of the state where I grew up, West Germany. Well, Fabulous Desaster are not the new rulers of the German thrash scene, but Hang 'Em High whets the appetite for another portion of their kind of thrash. Furthermore, the University of Bonn has a nice park which offers a beautiful view over the majestic Rhine - and the prospects for the future of this band are beautiful as well.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by Rosh on February 14, 2022.

Coming off a string of EPs and live releases, Iron Man had reached their most prolific point by the early 2010's, when "Screaming" Mad Dee joined on vocals. I'm particularly impressed by this late chapter (trust me, I wish it didn't count as "late") of this Maryland staple, because as the culimating effort of this era, South Of The Earth, proves, all the pieces needed to stay highly relevant in the doom scene of the time were there. It doesn't top their first two excellent Hellhound albums from 20 years prior, but it also circumvents the need to. Compared to those albums, it deviates from Al Morris' usual three-fourths 70's Sabbath meets one-fourth 80's Sabbath approach here and there, but sacrifices none of his trademark grooviness, or his amazing guitar tone.

Upon first listen, you'll be able to tell there's a palpable (but still relatively minor) southern/sludge feel on this album, enhanced by Louis Strachan's bass style (as well as its presence in the mix) and Dee's grittier, hoarser vocals. The entire first half of South Of The Earth is particularly reminiscent of a classic doom/heavy metal band taking subtle queues from the best of modern stoner/sludge, and if this sounds like a winning formula, that's because it absolutely is. Maryland doom has always been adaptable and focused on musicality first and foremost - bands of the scene can range from being highly accessible for most heavy rock fans, to being rather burned out and despairing. The opening title track here does both really well, and is perhaps better for converting someone to hardened, gritty doom than the typical culprits like Saint Vitus (though I have always felt Morris is a far too overlooked pioneer of American doom for how indispensable his works truly were).

'Hail To The Haze' reaches a chorus that seems similarly brooding, but during its verses, it rides on a rhythm section that comes off a bit like the first couple Motörhead albums. This is perhaps an unlikely comparison for a doom metal band, but it nonetheless resonates with me - when I showed a metalhead friend of mine who's more into black metal and the dissonant side of tech death a lot of the American doom classics, he did say that a lot of it comes of as "biker." I've always gotten that impression too, because this style is badass by all accounts. I like how this "Hellhound doom" style is less influenced by the textbook NWOBHM/traditional heavy metal sound of the 80's than, say, the epic heavy/doom sound. It's much more inspired by 70's heavy rock/early metal, and the acid rock before it, but is still generally very heavy sounding and not too slow either. Now, I don't need to tell you this if you've heard Pentagram's 1970's recordings, because that much is obvious. However, what you might not have extrapolated from this point is that what you get with those kinds of musical sensibilities is a more free feel - this means they can conjure Sabbath as per usual, Motörhead if they feel like it, and traces of the sludge/stoner sound as I mentioned earlier.

'The Worst And Longest Day' might initially seem to be a standard slow-paced doom metal song, but this is where Iron Man, particularly the lineup here, is so many steps ahead. Morris hangs back a bit in the riff department in this song, but this works a little better than it would on Black Night due to the very strong clang of Lou's bass present here, and most notably due to Dee's really, really foreboding, not-so-clean singing. "Screaming" Mad Dee is an amazing doom metal vocalist; his gritty style comes off kind of like Scott Reagers and Lee Dorrian combined into one, with at least as much charisma as Bobby Liebling's voice, too. Anyway, after the tense overtone is set, Morris belts out that solo style he was really renowned for and it leads to an awesome jam to conclude a doom metal song like this. Marvelous first half.

'The Day Of The Beast' comes back swinging, however, more of a return to the faster-paced 90's Iron Man. This song further drives home the power of this band's final lineup, what they can do with the faster-paced, more athletic traditional doom approach. 'Dunwich, Pt. 2' has an intro and first half that feels almost too close to stoner/doom with that droning, in-and-out-of-focus kind of feel, but then when you remember this is Iron Man's Rise Above album, fine, whatever. It's also still way heavier and groovier than most stoner/doom, because after all, Al Morris would never let his guitar work become that tame and ineffectual. Not at all.

South Of The Earth is a really complete package of an album, classic doom metal that I do think fans of sludge, groove, and stoner will thoroughly appreciate. It's also interesting for this reason and that's without even bringing up some of the peculiar song titles here; I shortened a couple of their names when discussing them. I actually wonder what would become of it if labels like Rise Above eventually acquired more legacy doom acts that they themselves did not initially get off the ground. It'd sound interesting. On the topic of legacies, though, Alfred Morris III's will never, ever be forgotten and in fact I hope his impact only continues to grow over time. If you want a good companion piece to South Of The Earth, I highly suggest checking out what the other guys who played on this album are doing in Spiral Grave now. Doom remains fresh to this day!

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by Rosh on February 14, 2022.

Coming off a string of EPs and live releases, Iron Man had reached their most prolific point by the early 2010's, when "Screaming" Mad Dee joined on vocals. I'm particularly impressed by this late chapter (trust me, I wish it didn't count as "late") of this Maryland staple, because as the culimating effort of this era, South Of The Earth, proves, all the pieces needed to stay highly relevant in the doom scene of the time were there. It doesn't top their first two excellent Hellhound albums from 20 years prior, but it also circumvents the need to. Compared to those albums, it deviates from Al Morris' usual three-fourths 70's Sabbath meets one-fourth 80's Sabbath approach here and there, but sacrifices none of his trademark grooviness, or his amazing guitar tone.

Upon first listen, you'll be able to tell there's a palpable (but still relatively minor) southern/sludge feel on this album, enhanced by Louis Strachan's bass style (as well as its presence in the mix) and Dee's grittier, hoarser vocals. The entire first half of South Of The Earth is particularly reminiscent of a classic doom/heavy metal band taking subtle queues from the best of modern stoner/sludge, and if this sounds like a winning formula, that's because it absolutely is. Maryland doom has always been adaptable and focused on musicality first and foremost - bands of the scene can range from being highly accessible for most heavy rock fans, to being rather burned out and despairing. The opening title track here does both really well, and is perhaps better for converting someone to hardened, gritty doom than the typical culprits like Saint Vitus (though I have always felt Morris is a far too overlooked pioneer of American doom for how indispensable his works truly were).

'Hail To The Haze' reaches a chorus that seems similarly brooding, but during its verses, it rides on a rhythm section that comes off a bit like the first couple Motörhead albums. This is perhaps an unlikely comparison for a doom metal band, but it nonetheless resonates with me - when I showed a metalhead friend of mine who's more into black metal and the dissonant side of tech death a lot of the American doom classics, he did say that a lot of it comes of as "biker." I've always gotten that impression too, because this style is badass by all accounts. I like how this "Hellhound doom" style is less influenced by the textbook NWOBHM/traditional heavy metal sound of the 80's than, say, the epic heavy/doom sound. It's much more inspired by 70's heavy rock/early metal, and the acid rock before it, but is still generally very heavy sounding and not too slow either. Now, I don't need to tell you this if you've heard Pentagram's 1970's recordings, because that much is obvious. However, what you might not have extrapolated from this point is that what you get with those kinds of musical sensibilities is a more free feel - this means they can conjure Sabbath as per usual, Motörhead if they feel like it, and traces of the sludge/stoner sound as I mentioned earlier.

'The Worst And Longest Day' might initially seem to be a standard slow-paced doom metal song, but this is where Iron Man, particularly the lineup here, is so many steps ahead. Morris hangs back a bit in the riff department in this song, but this works a little better than it would on Black Night due to the very strong clang of Lou's bass present here, and most notably due to Dee's really, really foreboding, not-so-clean singing. "Screaming" Mad Dee is an amazing doom metal vocalist; his gritty style comes off kind of like Scott Reagers and Lee Dorrian combined into one, with at least as much charisma as Bobby Liebling's voice, too. Anyway, after the tense overtone is set, Morris belts out that solo style he was really renowned for and it leads to an awesome jam to conclude a doom metal song like this. Marvelous first half.

'The Day Of The Beast' comes back swinging, however, more of a return to the faster-paced 90's Iron Man. This song further drives home the power of this band's final lineup, what they can do with the faster-paced, more athletic traditional doom approach. 'Dunwich, Pt. 2' has an intro and first half that feels almost too close to stoner/doom with that droning, in-and-out-of-focus kind of feel, but then when you remember this is Iron Man's Rise Above album, fine, whatever. It's also still way heavier and groovier than most stoner/doom, because after all, Al Morris would never let his guitar work become that tame and ineffectual. Not at all.

South Of The Earth is a really complete package of an album, classic doom metal that I do think fans of sludge, groove, and stoner will thoroughly appreciate. It's also interesting for this reason and that's without even bringing up some of the peculiar song titles here; I shortened a couple of their names when discussing them. I actually wonder what would become of it if labels like Rise Above eventually acquired more legacy doom acts that they themselves did not initially get off the ground. It'd sound interesting. On the topic of legacies, though, Alfred Morris III's will never, ever be forgotten and in fact I hope his impact only continues to grow over time. If you want a good companion piece to South Of The Earth, I highly suggest checking out what the other guys who played on this album are doing in Spiral Grave now. Doom remains fresh to this day!

Rating: 9.6 out of 10