The Sword

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This article is about the American heavy metal band. For other uses, see The Sword (disambiguation).
The Sword

The Sword performing in San Francisco, California on February 25, 2006. From left to right: Kyle Shutt, Bryan Richie, Trivett Wingo and J. D. Cronise.
Background information
Origin Austin, Texas, United States
Genres Heavy metal, doom metal, stoner metal, alternative metal
Years active 2003–present
Labels Kemado (Worldwide)
Impedance (Australia)
Toy's Factory (Japan)
Associated acts Ultimate Dragons, Those Peabodys, Metallica, Witchcraft
Website www.swordofdoom.com
Members
J. D. Cronise
Kyle Shutt
Bryan Richie
Trivett Wingo

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 record label Kemado Records, The Sword has released two full-length studio albums: Age of Winters in 2006 and Gods of the Earth in 2008. As of December 2009, a third album has been written and prepared for recording, with a 2010 release planned.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years and debut album (2003–2007)

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] Cronise and Wingo had previously been in a band called Ultimate Dragons, based in Virginia, while Shutt and Richie had been performing in Texas bands "united by a love of [Led] Zeppelin."[6] After their first live performance together on March 18,[7] the band released an eponymous demo, The Sword,[4] which was followed the next year by an extended play (EP) entitled Freya.[4] After performing at the 2005 South by Southwest festival, the band was signed by New York-based record label Kemado Records,[2] among competing offers from Tee Pee, Arclight and Relapse.[6]

The Sword released their debut full-length album, Age of Winters, in February 2006, much of which had been written by Cronise before the band's formation.[1] In support of the album, the band toured in 2006 and 2007 with such support acts as, in the United States, Early Man, Priestess, Lacuna Coil and Trivium; in Europe, Nebula and Clutch; and in Japan, Lamb of God.[8] In June they contributed a new song, "Under the Boughs" (which was later featured on their second album), to the Kemado compilation Invaders,[9] 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.[10] "Freya" was later released as a single in September 2007.[11]

[edit] Gods of the Earth and mainstream recognition (2007–2009)

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".[3] Gods of the Earth was the band's second album, released on April 1, 2008.[3] The album, much more of a collaborative writing effort than its predecessor,[1] provided the band with their first chart success when it reached number 102 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart.[12] 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.[13] The quartet also supported heavy metal veterans Metallica on their 2008 European Vacation Tour in July,[13] 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.[14]

A two-disc box set containing Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth was released on November 25,[3][15] 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.[16] The Sword's music was also featured in the 2009 films Jennifer's Body ("Celestial Crown")[17] and Horsemen ("Maiden, Mother & Crone").[18]

[edit] Third album (2009–present)

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."[19] The blog entry also revealed that recording would begin in late-2009, for what was described as a "concept album centered around an original science fiction narrative."[19] In October 2009 it was revealed that the band would be performing at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin in November, at which they planned to perform "a whole ton of stuff from our forthcoming and as yet untitled record," according to drummer Wingo, "[i]n keeping with th[e] tradition [of performing songs from Gods of the Earth before it was released]."[20] On the topic of the upcoming album, which will reportedly be recorded at the end of 2009, Wingo added that the band "have just finished writing [it]."[20] The band issued a further update in December 2009, stating that "We're nearing completion of the writing process for our upcoming third album. Recording is planned for early 2010 to be preceded by a short regional tour showcasing the new songs."[21] The tour in question will comprise seven shows in seven cities between January 23 and 29, 2010,[22] before the band are due to begin recording at a hometown studio in February.[23]

[edit] Style, songwriting and influence

The Sword is commonly classified as doom metal,[2][4][24] alternative metal[2] and stoner metal.[24] Eduardo Rivadavia of allmusic describes the band as being "at the forefront of … the 'heritage' or 'retro metal' movement,"[25] comparing their style to that of heavy metal veterans Black Sabbath and vocalist Cronise to Ozzy Osbourne.[25][26] Rolling Stone also likens the band to Sabbath,[27] 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."[28] The Sword has also been dubbed as 'hipster metal,' though Cronise and the band object to such a label.[1]

While every member of the band contributes to the musical compositions, Cronise is the primary writer of the band's lyrics.[26] He often uses Norse mythology as a topic in his lyrics,[4] notably in the song "Freya",[29] but cites literature as his main influence, identifying such authors as George R. R. Martin, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur C. Clarke as inspirations.[1]

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.[29] The band's guitarists, in discussions of their musical influences, have identified 'classic' metal guitar players such as James Hetfield of Metallica, Pantera's Dimebag Darrell and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and Cronise has also described Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top fame) as a "huge influence."[30]

[edit] Band members

[edit] Discography

Main article: The Sword discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Ziemke, Mark (March 4, 2008). "The Sword are Gods of the Earth". Ground Control. http://groundcontrolmag.com/detail/1/925/. Retrieved October 11, 2008. 
  2. ^ a b c d Rivadavia, Eduardo. "The Sword > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dcftxq9sldse~T1. Retrieved September 22, 2008. 
  3. ^ a b c d "The Sword". Kemado Records. http://www.kemado.com/artists.php?req=show&artist=8. Retrieved September 27, 2008. 
  4. ^ a b c d e "The Sword". Encyclopaedia Metallum. http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=57071. Retrieved September 14, 2008. 
  5. ^ McLennan, Scott (October 5, 2006). "The Sword takes a slice at vintage heavy metal". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. 
  6. ^ a b Schroeder, Audra (February 3, 2006). "Winter's Wolves: The Sword's land of ice and snow". The Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:333847. Retrieved December 19, 2009. 
  7. ^ "Upcoming Shows". The Sword (Internet Archive). March 22, 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20040322013942/http://swordofdoom.com/. Retrieved September 14, 2009. 
  8. ^ "Past Shows". The Sword (Internet Archive). October 12, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071012142619/http://swordofdoom.com/pastshows.html. Retrieved September 14, 2009. 
  9. ^ "Compilations". Kemado Records. http://www.kemado.com/artists.php?req=show&artist=14. Retrieved September 27, 2008. 
  10. ^ Roper, Chris (October 9, 2006). "Guitar Hero II Final Tracklist Revealed". IGN. http://uk.ps2.ign.com/articles/737/737921p1.html. Retrieved October 11, 2008. 
  11. ^ "Freya/Iron Swan > Overview". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aiftxzyhldae. Retrieved October 11, 2008. 
  12. ^ "Artist Chart History - The Sword". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=705627&model.vnuAlbumId=1110628. Retrieved September 27, 2008. 
  13. ^ a b "Tour dates 2008". The Sword. http://www.swordofdoom.com/live2008.html. Retrieved December 4, 2008. 
  14. ^ "Tour dates 2009". The Sword. http://www.swordofdoom.com/live2009.html. Retrieved May 22, 2009. 
  15. ^ "The Sword Release Limited Box Set, 2008 Winter Tour with Metallica". Ground Control. November 19, 2008. http://groundcontrolmag.com/index.php?m=article&article_id=1302&type_id=2&npage=1. Retrieved 2008-12-08. 
  16. ^ "'Guitar Hero: Metallica': Complete Track Listing Revealed". Roadrunner Records (blabbermouth.net). January 23, 2009. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113091. Retrieved April 11, 2009. 
  17. ^ "Jennifer's Body > Overview". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gpfixztaldke. Retrieved October 10, 2009. 
  18. ^ "Horsemen (2009) - Soundtracks". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892767/soundtrack. Retrieved October 10, 2009. 
  19. ^ a b "Album #3". The Sword (MySpace). August 19, 2009. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=3145468&blogId=506296011. Retrieved August 23, 2009. 
  20. ^ a b "The Sword to perform at the Fun Fun Fun Fest". The Gauntlet. October 16, 2009. http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1225/17078/The-Sword-to-perform-at-the-Fun-Fun-Fun-Fest.html. Retrieved October 27, 2009. 
  21. ^ "status update". The Sword (MySpace). December 10, 2009. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=3145468&blogId=521747740. Retrieved December 12, 2009. 
  22. ^ "Upcoming shows 2010". The Sword. http://www.swordofdoom.com/?page=live. Retrieved December 19, 2009. 
  23. ^ "THE SWORD Announces U.S. Tour Dates". Roadrunner Records (Blabbermouth.net). December 15, 2009. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=132023. Retrieved December 19, 2009. 
  24. ^ a b "The Sword's Biography". Last.fm. http://www.last.fm/music/The+Sword/+wiki. Retrieved October 1, 2008. 
  25. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Age of Winters > Overview". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2v8n1v76zzua. Retrieved October 10, 2008. 
  26. ^ a b Owen, Rhonda (November 21, 2008). "Crediting forebears, The Sword plays old-school `hipster metal'". The Arkansas Democrat Gazette. 
  27. ^ "Gods Of The Earth : The Sword". Rolling Stone. May 15, 2008. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/19781231/review/20533040/gods_of_the_earth. Retrieved October 10, 2008. 
  28. ^ "Sword, The - Gods of the Earth - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. April 18, 2008. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=312739. Retrieved October 10, 2008. 
  29. ^ a b DeRogatis, Jim (October 15, 2006). "A 'Winters' tale: How a bunch of metalheads got together and cranked out some buzz". Chicago Sun-Times. 
  30. ^ DeMasi, Vincent (March 1, 2006). "The Sword". Guitar Player. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Sword
J. D. Cronise · Kyle Shutt · Bryan Richie · Trivett Wingo
Studio albums
EPs/demos
Singles
Concert tours
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword"