This album was put out very soon after "The W" and there was hesitance to listen to this album because "The W" had alot of hit or miss tracks that were experimental (not saying "The W" wasn't good at all because it had some tracks that were really good).Anyway, "Iron Flag" kind of perfects the mistakes of the album before it and continues to be innovative in beats and backing music.On this album, RZA reigns in the experimentation some and let's the basic sound that made Wu-Tang originally shine through more. At the same time, he builds on the original sound and almost updates it for the times. Some people saw that as making everything more polished and taking a step backwards, but without growth of some kind, the Wu would begin to sound out-dated and I've got a feeling RZA realized that.As far as the verses from the members, not all of the Wu members get equal amounts of time on the mic but the important thing is that the album sounds good the way it is. ODB was nowhere to be found on this album but I was impressed that they could hold everything together still (while ODB is missed, I can't deny that the members who did get their time in the spotlight did a great job). The only tracks I couldn't get into were "In the Hood" and "Back in the Game" because they felt disjointed to me.The Wu Tang rap really hardcore on this album mainly focusing on the struggles of the streets, post 9/11 attitude towards everything in general, and sometimes trying to explain how it's difficult embracing fame and explaining how they've changed how they see things.I'm glad that RZA was able to help strike a balance of innovation and experimentation while making it easier for the other members of the Wu to flow with what his vision was.If you love the Wu, give this album a chance and don't expect to hear the old sound of 36 Chambers or even Wu-Tang Forever. This is different but good in it's own way.If you're just getting into the Wu, start with "Enter the 36 Chambers" and go from there.