Iron Monkey formed in Nottingham, England, in 1994, intending "to irritate as many people as possible," according to bass player Doug Dalziel. That may have worked for a while, but eventually the band had to deal with the fact that quite a few people actually liked what they were doing. After releasing a self-titled six-song mini-album in 1996, the band gained a fair amount of appreciation in the underground. Rumors abounded that Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo was listening to the self-titled release when he overdosed on heroin in 1996. As a result of the buzz and infamy around the recording, live shows, and associated rumors, Iron Monkey was picked up by the metal giant Earache in 1997 and released the epic and disturbing Our Problem in 1998. The big label exposure transformed Iron Monkey from a local force into one of two powerhouse sludge bands in the late '90s, the other being New Orleans' Eyehategod. After recording Our Problem, Iron Monkey remained fiercely independent, recording the last effort by the group, the 10" record and CD split with Japan's Church of Misery, We've Learned Nothing, for Melvins cover artist and stoner rock label owner Frank Kozik's Man's Ruin records. ~ Paul Kott, All Music Guide
The group wrote a six song album that was released originally on the small imprint Union Mill before being put out by Nottingham label Earache Records. Before the deal was made however guitarist Steve Watson was fired and replaced by Dean Berry. The band's second album Our Problem was released to high acclaim. The next release was a split CD with JapaneseDoom metal band Church of Misery that was put out by Man's Ruin Records. In 1999 the band played the Dynamo Festival in the Netherlands and shortly after Jim Rushby left the band and was replaced by ex-Acrimony guitarist Stu O'Hara. However due to a variety of personal and industry problems the band split in September 1999.
Justin, Jim and Johnny went on to form the short-lived Armour of God while Dean, Doug and Stu formed Dukes of Nothing. Steve has played in Helvis. Johnny then formed My War and Murder One before suffering a fatal heart attack in the summer of 2002. Justin has since played in an array of bands that include Borknagar, Silver Ginger Five, Hard To Swallow (also with Jim), Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, British Doom titans Electric Wizard and now plays in Crippled Black Phoenix. Dean played for the underground post-doom/sludge/core group Capricorns (signed on Lee Dorrian's Rise Above Records), while Stu went on to play in Black Eye Riot. He's now playing with Acrimony members in a yet to be named stoner-groove outfit. Jim currently plays in Geriatric Unit. A live and rare tracks album entitled Ruined by Idiots was released in 2003 on Maniac Beast Records.
