Ironsword was formed in Portugal and releasd a 3 song promo-tape in 1995.  Their sound was compared to such power Metal bands as Saxon, Iron Maiden and Cirith Ungol, even though the genre itself wasn't very popular at the time.
After a record deal fell through, they released a 5 song promo-tape in 1998 but again to no avail.  In 2002, the British label The Miskatonic Foundation signed them and put them in the studio, where they recorded their 9 song self-titled disc.  
Their debut was received well, and set the stage for their second, entitled Return of the Warrior.
What is Return Of The Warrior?  12 songs of your basic Power Metal goodness, that's what. They've stuck to their guns, which earns them much respect from me.  Ironsword really love what they are doing and you can hear that in their music. Their sound is pleasantly unique - grittier and more fiery than most power metal bands.
Return Of The Warrior is full of excellent lead work, the smashing solos were the highlight for me - the rhythm guitars just weren't as exciting.  The singer has a deep voice like tossed gravel, different from most crystal clear high pitched Power Metal bands.  But fear not, he also has a Metal scream that pounds the blood.  There were no lyrics included in the album sleeve and the singer's hard to understand at times so I couldn't quite pick up on all the songs, but for the most part they're about fantastical topics, mostly concerning barbarians.
The first song bears the name of their band. It has a good dark atmosphere, appropriate to a good barbarian movie. The rhythm guitar-work on this song is probably the best of the album and the lead-work is really cool! It is a rallying cry for fans.
Beginning Of The End describes the fall of a kingdom and subsequent revenge.  It has all around good guitar-work and the singer shines.  This is one of my favorites from this record.  
First Masters has particularly good drum-work and soloing. Return Of The Warrior, Brothers Of The Blade, The Wench, Nemedian Chronicles, and Death Or Glory's lead work steals the show from the rhythm. Dragons Of The Sea has cool guitar-work, both lead and rhythm. It is about dragon-ships and the people they carry. The Way Of The Barbarian is very good all around, the riffery is fun and bounces along nicely. Like many of their songs, it is about barbarians and their way of life. It is one of my favorites of theirs. War Hymns guitar-work has an ethereal edge that I like. War Hymns is a song to move to and would be great to play video games to. Let The Titans Collide has a darker mood than most of the album. It is inspiring and angry and the guitar-work is good all around.
All in all, I would say that Ironsword are an average to good band. Their lead-work is impressive and the singer's original voice could bring them far, but they do need to work on making their rhythm guitar a bit more interesting.