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Iron Man, the name of the classic Black Sabbath song is also the name of this U.S. Doom Metal band. As you might expect, their brand of metal is a faithful rendition of that pivotal band, after all Iron Man were a tribute band. Every characteristic of that band is present on this album, from the songwriting style, the doomy lyrics to the crunchy guitar sound and dirty production. Moving on, this is my first experience with the band so I can't compare this album to their previous works.

The performances here are o.k., there is nothing on the album that is extremely exceptional. The guitars are heavy, and that is a good thing (especially for Doom Metal) and the rhythm section doesn't distract you from the music. Vocally however it is sometimes a dead on spot of Zakk Wylde (I wish I were kidding) and Ozzy Osbourne to some extent. With the lack of great musicianship, Iron Man tries to compensate that with songwriting ability. Therefore, all the songs here have an emphasis on heaviness and pace rather than on variety. There are a few exceptions like "Gomorrah Gold", "Blind Sighted Forward Spiral" and the closer "Among the Filth and Slime" (which is the best song here). As for the rest of the record, I felt like I've heard the material found here before, and done better.

Although it picks some momentum in the second half, I Have Returned is a difficult album to digest because the songs are so similar that it is difficult to distinguish them. That makes this a long and tedious listening for the most part, even though the album is only 44 minutes long. At the end of the day, I felt like the band was playing it safe and was unwilling to take chances. Iron Man wear their Black Sabbath influences proudly on their sleeves, and this is an album that many Doom Metal fans will like. If you are a die-hard Sabbath fan, this is a good record to have and you definitely will enjoy it a lot more than me.