The Sword
is an American heavy metal band that formed in Austin, Texas in 2003. Since its inception, the band has comprised vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Trivett Wingo. Signed to New York-based label Kemado Records, The Sword has released two full-length studio albums: Age of Winters
in 2006 and Gods of the Earth
in 2008.
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THE SWORD TICKETS
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History
Early years and debut album
After writing and recording music on his own for "a few years,"
[1] singer-songwriter and guitarist J. D. Cronise enlisted the help of guitarist Kyle Shutt and drummer Trivett Wingo to form The Sword in 2003;
[2] [3] [4] bassist Bryan Richie joined later in 2004.
[5] The band released an eponymous
demo,
The Sword
, in 2004,
which was followed the next year by an
extended play (EP) entitled
Freya
.
After performing at the 2005
South by Southwest festival, the band was signed by New York-based record label
Kemado Records.
The Sword released their debut full-length album,
Age of Winters
, in February 2006; much of the album had been written by Cronise before the band's formation.
In support of the album, the band toured in 2006 and 2007 with such
support acts as
Early Man,
Priestess,
Lacuna Coil and
Trivium in the United States;
Nebula and
Clutch in Europe; and
Lamb of God in Japan.
[6] [7] In June they contributed a new song, "Under the Boughs" (which was later featured on their second album), to the Kemado compilation
Invaders
,
[8] and in November the song "
Freya", from
Age of Winters
, was covered and featured as a playable track on the video game
Guitar Hero II
.
[9] "Freya" was later released as a single in September 2007.
[10]
Gods of the Earth
and touring with Metallica
In November 2007, the metal outfit released a
split extended play with Swedish
doom metal band
Witchcraft; The Sword's contribution included a new track, "Sea of Spears", as well as a cover of English
hard rock band
Led Zeppelin's "
Immigrant Song".
Gods of the Earth
was the band's second album, released on April 1, 2008.
The album, much more of a collaborative writing effort than its predecessor,
provided the band with their first chart success when it reached number 102 on the American
Billboard
200 albums chart.
[11] In support of the album, the band completed the
Gods of the Earth Tour, supported by bands including
Machine Head, Lamb of God and Clutch.
[12] The quartet also supported heavy metal veterans
Metallica on their
2008 European Vacation Tour in July,
and returned as the opening act on a number of legs on their
World Magnetic Tour, which continued through the opening months of 2009 until May.
[13] A two-disc
box set containing
Age of Winters
and
Gods of the Earth
was released on November 25,
[14] and the song "The Black River", from
Gods of the Earth
, was included on the video game
Guitar Hero: Metallica
, released in North America on March 29, 2009.
[15]
Third album
On August 19, 2009, the band reported on their official
MySpace profile that a third album was in the works, stating that "The writing process is nearing completion, and demoing will soon commence."
[16] The blog entry also revealed that recording would begin in late-2009, for a "
concept album centered around an original
science fiction narrative."
Style, songwriting and influence
The Sword is commonly classified as doom metal,
[17] alternative metal and
stoner metal.
Eduardo Rivadavia of
allmusic describes the band as being "at the forefront of ... the 'heritage' or 'retro metal' movement",
[18] comparing it to heavy metal veterans
Black Sabbath and vocalist Cronise to
Ozzy Osbourne.
[19] Rolling Stone
also likens the band to Sabbath,
[20] as does AbsolutePunk.net in its review of
Gods of the Earth
, claiming that "It's impossible not to compare [the album] to the works of Black Sabbath."
[21] The Sword has also been dubbed as 'hipster metal', though Cronise and the band object to such a label.
While every member of the band contributes to the musical compositions, Cronise is the primary writer of the band's lyrics.
He often uses
Norse mythology as a topic in his lyrics,
notably in the song "Freya";
but cites literature as his main influence, naming such authors as
George R. R. Martin,
Robert E. Howard,
H. P. Lovecraft and
Arthur C. Clarke.
The band has cited Black Sabbath (the band they are most commonly compared to) as a major influence, in addition to doom trio
Sleep,
sludge band the
Melvins,
thrash veterans
Slayer, and heavy metal icons
Iron Maiden and
Deep Purple, among others.
[22] The band's guitarists, in discussions of their musical influences, have identified 'classic' metal guitar players such as
James Hetfield,
Dimebag Darrell and
Tony Iommi, and Cronise has also described
Billy Gibbons (of
ZZ Top fame) as a "huge influence".
[23]
Band members
- J. D. Cronise – vocals, guitar
- Kyle Shutt – guitar
- Bryan Richie – bass
- Trivett Wingo – drums
Discography
- Age of Winters
(2006)
- Gods of the Earth
(2008)
References
- The Sword are Gods of the Earth
- The Sword > Biography
- The Sword
- The Sword
- The Sword takes a slice at vintage heavy metal
- Tour dates 2006
- Tour dates 2007
- Compilations
- Guitar Hero II Final Tracklist Revealed
- Freya/Iron Swan > Overview
- Artist Chart History - The Sword
- Tour dates 2008
- Tour dates 2009
- The Sword Release Limited Box Set, 2008 Winter Tour with Metallica
- 'Guitar Hero: Metallica': Complete Track Listing Revealed
- Album #3
- The Sword's Biography
- Age of Winters > Overview
- Crediting forebears, The Sword plays old-school `hipster metal'
- Gods Of The Earth : The Sword
- Sword, The - Gods of the Earth - Album Review
- A 'Winters' tale: How a bunch of metalheads got together and cranked out some buzz
- The Sword