The Sword | |
|---|---|
 The Sword in 2013; left to right: Kyle Shutt, Jimmy Vela (back),John D. Cronise, Bryan Richie | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Members | John D. Cronise Kyle Shutt Bryan Richie Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III |
| Past members | Trivett Wingo |
| Website | theswordofficial |
The Sword is an Americanheavy metal band fromAustin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band is composed of vocalist and guitaristJohn D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its tenure. Originally signed toKemado Records, the group released their debut albumAge of Winters in 2006, the material for which had been largely written by Cronise (who also produced the album) prior to the band's formation.Gods of the Earth (which was also produced by the band's frontman) was released two years later, giving the group its first entry on the USBillboard 200 chart when it reached number 102.
In 2010, the band releasedWarp Riders, aconcept album centered on an originalscience fiction narrative written primarily by Cronise, which marked the first time the group had enlisted an external producer inMatt Bayles. Original drummer Trivett Wingo left the group later in the year and was replaced briefly by Kevin Fender, before Vela joined in late 2011. After signing withRazor & Tie in early 2012, the group released its fourth albumApocryphon later in the year, which was promoted worldwide on theApocryphon Tour. The band's fifth studio albumHigh Country was released in August 2015, followed by their sixthUsed Future in March 2018. The Sword disbanded in October 2022 but have since regrouped and begun touring again.
During its early career, the Sword was categorized primarily as adoom metal band, with the group's members citing bands includingBlack Sabbath andSleep as influences. In more recent years, the group's style had generally been classified ashard rock orstoner rock. The Sword has toured with a wide range of fellow rock and metal artists since its formation, includingMetallica,Lamb of God andClutch, and in recent years also headlined its own tours.
After writing and recording music on his own for "a few years",[1] vocalist and guitaristJohn D. "J.D." Cronise formed The Sword in 2003 with guitarist Kyle Shutt and drummer Trivett Wingo.[2][3] Speaking about choosing the band's name, Cronise claims that he researched the moniker first and found it "unbelievable" that it hadn't already been used; however, two other bands did already have the name Sword, including aCanadian heavy metal band, and the frontman states he "narrowly escaped litigation hell" before the Sword was finalised.[4] The trio played their first show together on June 19, 2003, at the Beerland in Austin,[5] and released their firstdemoAge of Winters before the end of the year.[6] Bassist Bryan Richie completed the four-piece lineup in early 2004.[7] Prior to the formation of the Sword, Cronise and Wingo had performed together in the group Ultimate Dragons inRichmond, Virginia,[8] while Shutt and Richie had worked with multiple bands in Texas "united by a love ofLed Zeppelin".[9] Cronise had also performed with a local band called Those Peabodys, but left as he felt he "needed to do something heavier".[8] After their first live performance together as a four-piece at Austin's Sound on Sound Records on March 17, 2004,[5] the band released a self-titled second demo,[6] which was followed the next year by anextended play (EP) entitledFreya.[10]
After performing at the 2005South by Southwest festival, the Sword was signed by New York-based record labelKemado Records,[2] following a recommendation byLamb of God guitaristMark Morton.[4] The band released its debut albumAge of Winters in February 2006, for which much of the material had been written by Cronise before the band's formation and featured on the band's early demos.[1][4] In support of the album the band toured throughout 2006 and 2007, with support acts includingLacuna Coil andTrivium in the United States,Nebula andClutch in Europe, andLamb of God in Japan.[11] In November 2006 a cover version of the song "Freya" was featured as a playable track on the video gameGuitar Hero II,[12] and the original track was later released as the band's first single in September 2007.[13]Age of Winters did not chart, but received widely positive reviews from critics includingAllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, who described the album as "remarkably well-balanced and almost suspiciously immediate".[14]
In June 2007, the band contributed a new song, "Under the Boughs" (which was later included on their second album), to the Kemado compilationInvaders.[15] The group also released asplit EP with Swedishdoom metal bandWitchcraft the same month, contributing new track "Sea of Spears" and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" to the record.[3]Gods of the Earth was the band's second album, released on April 1, 2008.[3] The album, which is much more of a collaborative writing effort than its predecessor,[1] provided the band with its firstBillboard 200 chart entry, reaching number 102.[16] In support of the album, the band completed the Gods of the Earth Tour supported by artists such asMachine Head, Lamb of God and Clutch;[17] the quartet also supported heavy metal veteransMetallica on their2008 European Vacation Tour in July,[18] and returned as the opening act for a number of legs on their 2009World Magnetic Tour.[19] A two-discbox set containing the band's first two albumsAge of Winters andGods of the Earth was released on November 25, 2008,[3][20] and the song "The Black River" fromGods of the Earth was later included on the 2009 video gameGuitar Hero: Metallica.[21] The band's music was also featured in the 2009 filmsJennifer's Body ("Celestial Crown")[22] andHorsemen ("Maiden, Mother & Crone"),[23] and in March 2009, the Sword won two local music awards: theHigh Times Doobie Award and the Austin Music Award for Best Metal Artist.[24][25]
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The Sword spent the rest of 2009 writing material for their third album,[26] which took the form of "aconcept album centered around an originalscience fiction narrative",[26] and had more of ahard rock sound than the band's previous releases.[27] Some of the new songs were debuted at the 2009Fun Fun Fun Fest in November,[28] and were also played on "a short regional tour showcasing the new songs" in January.[29] Recording for the follow-up toGods of the Earth began in February 2010 withMatt Bayles, marking the first time the band had worked with an external producer or engineer (the first two albums were produced by Cronise and engineered by Richie).[30] Recording of the album, titledWarp Riders, was completed by April.[31]
In May, the band contributed to asplit release for the second time, coveringThin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat" for aVolcom Entertainment Vinyl Club release withYear Long Disaster, who covered the Sword's own track "Maiden, Mother & Crone".[32] In July,Warp Riderslead single "Tres Brujas" was released as adigital download,[33] and alive EP entitlediTunes Festival: London 2010 (recorded at theiTunes Festival in London on July 3) was also released as aniTunes-exclusive download.[34] Released in August,Warp Riders surpassed the commercial performance ofGods of the Earth when it debuted at number 47 on theBillboard 200, selling almost 9,000 copies in the first week of its release.[35] The band supported Metallica again on a series of September tour dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan as warm-up for their ownWarp Riders Tour, which began the following month.[36]
Five shows into the opening North American leg of the Warp Riders Tour, the Sword was forced to postpone all dates due to the departure of drummer Trivett Wingo.[37] Explaining his decision to leave, Wingo commented that he felt "physically and emotionally unable to continue on as part of [the band]",[37] and later revealed that he had predicted he would eventually leave the band for "probably a couple of years", justifying his decision by explaining that "my level of anxiety pertaining to being on tour got to the point where medication was not the answer."[38] Upon Wingo's departure from the Sword, the remaining members of the band released the following statement:
We wish Trivett nothing but the best, and it is with heavy hearts that we bid him farewell ... We wish he could continue the adventure with us, but we understand that the life of a touring musician is not for everyone ... The show must go on, though, and will be back on the road as soon as humanly possible.[37]
For the later rescheduled tour dates, Austin-based drummer Kevin Fender, formerly of Employer, Employee, was enlisted as a temporary touring member.[39] The second single fromWarp Riders, "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire", was released as a limited edition picture disc at the beginning of November backed with previously unreleasedB-side "Farstar",[40] and later in the month the video for "Lawless Lands" – part two of theWarp Riders trilogy – was released online.[41] A number of European dates were rescheduled for May 2011,[42][43] and the third and finalWarp Riders music video "Night City" was released in March.[44] The band toured withKyuss Lives! andMonstrO in the summer of 2011.[45] In October 2011, Fender was replaced with Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III,[46] and the band saw out the rest of 2011 touring in the US.[47] Guitarist Kyle Shutt later spoke about the drummer changes in an interview in 2012, claiming that Wingo "took a shit all over [the band]" when he left and that Fender was chosen as he already knew how to play the group's songs.[48]
In March 2012, it was announced that the Sword had signed a worldwide deal with record labelRazor & Tie, with plans for a fourth album starting with recording in June and a projected late-2012 release.[49] In May the band released the single "Hammer of Heaven", a song originally recorded in 2003 for theAge of Winters demo and later submitted for inclusion on the soundtrack to the filmThe Avengers.[50] In the run-up to the recording of their next album, the group only played a few shows in 2012, most notably the Metallica-curated festivalOrion Music + More in June, where the band was introduced by Metallica bassistRobert Trujillo.[51] Working with producerJ. Robbins, the group recorded the follow-up toWarp Riders at Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore, Maryland between June and July 2012.[52] The resulting album,Apocryphon, was released in October 2012 and debuted at number 17 on theBillboard 200 albums chart,[16] selling over 16,000 copies in its first week and providing a new chart record for the band.[53] The promotionalApocryphon Tour commenced the following week in the US,[54] and continued across the world throughout the rest of 2012 and 2013.[55]
2012 and 2013 also saw the Sword expanding into business ventures outside of music, beginning in September 2012 with the release of the band's own brand ofhot sauce calledTears of Fire.[56] The sauce, which is made with the 'ghost pepper'Bhut Jolokia, was first announced and revealed on theTravel Channel seriesAnthony Bourdain: No Reservations on September 3, before going on sale to the public the following day.[56] This was followed in October by the release of the band's first line ofbeer,Winter's Wolves Beer, produced byBaltimore, Maryland-based brewery Oliver Ales,[53] and in July 2013 by a second line of beer,Iron Swan Ale, produced by Texas-based Real Ale Brewing Co.[55] A series of release shows for "Iron Swan Ale" were held in Texas. In 2014,"The Hidden Masters" and "Arcane Montane" were released together as a set of7" vinyl singles, with electronic remixes of each song by artist Dylan C (Dylan Cameron).[57] Later that year the band collaborated withBMX bike company Subrosa Brand on their own branded BMX model, featuring artwork byApocryphon artistJ. H. Williams III and named "The Stormwitch" after the song, "Eyes of the Stormwitch".[58]
Writing for the Sword's fifth album began in late 2014,[59] which was then recorded between March and April 2015 at Church House Studio in Austin Texas with formerGrupo Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada as producer.[60][61] Prior to starting recording, the group also embarked on a short tour between March 11 and 14, visiting four cities inLouisiana,Tennessee andOklahoma.[61]High Country was released on August 21 and theHigh Country Tour began in Europe on the same day.[62] The album was the band's first to chart outside of the US and UK, reaching number 74 on theAustralian Albums Chart and number 91 on theGerman Albums Chart.[63][64] It reached number 30 on the USBillboard 200.[16] In April 2016, the band released a cover ofSon House's "John the Revelator" forRecord Store Day.[65] In September, a collection ofacoustic recordings ofHigh Country songs was released asLow Country.[66] The following May saw the release of the group's first live album,Greetings From..., recorded during late 2016 on tour with Opeth.[67]
The Sword began recording its sixth studio albumUsed Future in October 2017, working inPortland, Oregon with producerTucker Martine.[68] "Deadly Nightshade" was released as the lead single from the album on January 26, 2018,[69] followed by "Twilight Sunrise" the following month.[70] The album was released on March 23, 2018, and reached number 104 on theBillboard 200 – the lowest position for a studio release in the band's career sinceAge of Winters failed to chart.[71] On September 6, 2018, the band announced viaFacebook that they would be going on hiatus, cancelling a subsequent Australian tour.[72]
In February 2020,funk metal bandPrimus announced a tour in tribute toprogressive rock bandRush, which featured the Sword alongsideWolfmother andBattles as support.[73]
On October 20, 2022, John D. Cronise announced the band was splitting up after 19 years.[74]
On June 27, 2024, the band announced they would reunite for a one-off on November 3 at theLevitation Festival.[75]
On November 13, 2024, the band released a single covering "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull.[76] Two weeks later, the band announced a New Year’s Eve show in Austin, Texas.[77]
The Sword has been categorised asdoom metal and identified as an example of the 'classic metal' movement ofstoner rock artists influenced by early metal bands such asBlack Sabbath,Led Zeppelin andBlue Cheer.[1] With the release ofWarp Riders, members of the band acknowledged that fans with a more "narrow-minded" view of heavy metal may feel alienated by stylistic changes.[78] Eduardo Rivadavia ofAllMusic described the band onAge of Winters as being "at the forefront of … the 'heritage' or 'retro metal' movement," comparing their style to that of heavy metal veterans Black Sabbath and vocalist Cronise toOzzy Osbourne.[14]Rolling Stone has also likened the band to Sabbath.[79]
While every member of the band contributes to the musical compositions, Cronise is the primary writer of the band's lyrics.[80] He often usesNorse mythology as a topic in his lyrics,[10] notably in the song "Freya",[81] but cites literature as his main influence, identifying such authors asGeorge R. R. Martin,Robert E. Howard,H. P. Lovecraft andArthur C. Clarke as inspirations.[1] OnWarp Riders, Cronise was again credited for writing all the lyrics, and only guitarist Kyle Shutt was added to the credits for the musical compositions.[82]
The band has cited Black Sabbath as a major influence, in addition to doom trioSleep,sludge band theMelvins,thrash veteransSlayer, and heavy metal iconsIron Maiden andDeep Purple, among others.[81] The band's guitarists, in discussions of their musical influences, have identified 'classic' metal guitar players such asJames Hetfield of Metallica,Pantera'sDimebag Darrell andTony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and Cronise has also describedBilly Gibbons (ofZZ Top) as a "huge influence."[83] In an interview with entertainment newspaperThe A.V. Club, Cronise also revealed that local metal band HRM, rock musicianBob Seger andR&B singerMichael Jackson have been influences on the Sword's sound.[8]
Current members
Former members
Former touring musicians
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