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Iron Man - I Have Returned

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 December 6 2009 at 11:46:59 PM



Kill your idols. Iron Man’s founder/guitarist and main creative force Al Morris’s long, hard road to recognition is not over yet, but with the release of I Have Returned, it would seem the worst is behind him. Formed in 1987 as a Black Sabbath tribute band, Iron Man’s story is one of constant struggle and missed opportunity, marked by disappoint, multiple lineup changes and legendary missteps, including a perhaps merely apocryphal tale about having once hung up on the call of a lifetime from Eddie Van Halen. But such generally common narratives become all the more frustrating with uncommon talent on display.

Moving frequently around the country with his family as a child, Morris’s one anchor in youth was music, particularly Black Sabbath, whose essence no single musician following afterward has so completely subsumed. Morris first heard “Iron Man” in junior high and, like an addict, he’s spent the better part of his life chasing - and with each step, more often than not, succeeding -  in recreating the awesome weight, and stunning, mesmerizing force of that sound. Easy to call him a disciple; tempting, as some have already, to call him a rip-off and let it lay, but Iron Man is more than simply down-tuned bends, more than just Black Sabbath obsession. On I Have Returned, the band’s first record in ten years since the release of 1999’s Generation Void, one hears as many things Sabbath had never thought to do (or even do as well in their transitional periods) as much as what they’ve already laid down for posterity, while tracks like "Gomorrah Gold" sound only about as Sabbath influenced as Alice In Chains. All presented, however, with a passion which after 20 years burns strong as ever.

Iron Man, like Gates of Slumber, answer the “what if?” questions left behind as their heroes eventually burned out after years of creativity.The simple fact is that, even for jaded music fans, hearing these bands is today more rewarding than any “genuine” artifact exhumed for another lackluster, almost worth it, outing. If you want the world of Metal shaken to its core, to hear the boundaries of genre exploded and swept away by some visionary upheaval of sound, keep searching. (And make sure you have plenty back up pairs of Vans for the journey.) If instead you crave well-written, expertly crafted, memorable and personally involved music, hit play on opening freewheeler “Burn the Sky,” or “Blight-Sighted Forward Spiral,” with its distortion expanding outward off every note like the death throes of a star, the cardiac throbbing of “Curse The Ages,” or the flanger-fucked 80’s style ballad “Fallen Angel.” Each song bossed into being by Morris’s over-powering tone and master riffing, matched note for note in Louis Strachan’s Old Grand Dad bottled bass guitar, Dex Dexter’s crater forming fills and vocalist Joe Donnelly rising as a beacon above the void to voice those familiar songs of destruction and renewal as proof of their survival. Let this be the badge of the band’s unbroken will.

[Todd DePalma]

Iron Man
I Have Returned
2009
Shadow Kingdom Records
type: reviews    keywords: heavy metal, lhp033,   

Comments (5)

  • 32 comments
    Invisible Oranges
    4:19 PM on Dec 07, 2009 // reply »
    This is high on my list of releases I need to check out this year - thanks for the reminder.
  • 67 comments
    chauncey chomperz
    1:25 PM on Dec 09, 2009 // reply »
    I appreciate that you and Voegtlin seem to be concerned with drawing a line in the sand around what is and what isn't metal. I agree that there is much to be said for understanding a genre's roots and parameters and honing one's craft within those confines. I don't think there's anything metal about Pelican or Isis either.

    I do think it's worthwhile to re-emphasize the genre's heritage and what it has traditionally meant, especially in the face of watered down bands being tagged as saviors of metal, or forward thinkers or whatever ignorant fanfare ticks you off. I would however avoid the defensive crouch, or circling of the wagons or whatever, that seems to go into effect if people talk about wanting something groundbreaking. I'm not sure if the implied argument is that metal is a genre exercise at this point anyway so one should endeavor to excel within it's boundaries, if so there might be something to that. People aren't owed a new form of music every decade or so. I strongly believe music doesn't need to invent versions 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 all the time just to satisfy people's adult onset ADD and dissatisfaction with their lives. But, and it's a big but, people are not necessarily van's wearing posers (also I've seen matt pike wear van's so...) if they don't want to hear another band of St. Vitus fans. I like this and Gates of Slumber, I like Heavy Metal done well. I also understand people wanting something they haven't heard.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    1:50 PM on Dec 09, 2009 // reply »
    I am on the offensive, Mr. Chomperz.
  • 67 comments
    chauncey chomperz
    2:29 PM on Dec 09, 2009 // reply »
    hahaha. fine fine.
  • 64 comments
    neu konservatiw
    4:27 PM on Dec 10, 2009 // reply »
    Vans.
 

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