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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 February 2010, the band has written and begun recording its third album.
HistoryEarly years and debut album (2003–2007)After writing and recording music on his own for "a few years,"[first=Mark ] singer-songwriter and guitarist J. D. Cronise enlisted the help of guitarist Kyle Shutt and drummer Trivett Wingo to form The Sword in 2003;[title=The Sword > Biography ][title=The Sword ][title=The Sword ] bassist Bryan Richie joined later in 2004. Cronise and Wingo had previously been in a band called Ultimate Dragons, based in Richmond, Virginia,[title= J.D. Cronise of The Sword ] while Shutt and Richie had been performing in Texas bands "united by a love of [1] Zeppelin."[title=Winter's Wolves: The Sword's land of ice and snow ] Cronise had also performed with a local band called Those Peabodys, but claims he left as he felt he "needed to do something heavier."
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.[title=Past Shows ] In June they contributed a new song, "Under the Boughs" (which was later featured on their second album), to the Kemado compilation Invaders, 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.[last=Roper ] "Freya" was later released as a single in September 2007.
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".[title=Tour dates 2008 ] The quartet also supported heavy metal veterans Metallica on their 2008 European Vacation Tour in July,
A two-disc box set containing Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth was released on November 25,
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."[title=Album #3 ] 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."[title=The Sword to perform at the Fun Fun Fun Fest ] 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 [2]."
In February 2010, it was revealed that the band had recruited producer and engineer Matt Bayles for the recording of their third album (after Cronise produced Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth), for which it has been confirmed that recording has begun.[title=Sooo...like...uh...What's The Sword been doing lately? ][title=THE SWORD Taps Producer MATT BAYLES For New Album ][title=The Sword enter the studio ][title=Motorhead kicks off SXSW a day early ][title=The Sword to Open for Motorhead at SXSW; Hit the Studio ] It has also been confirmed that the band will open for headliners Motörhead at the 2010 edition of the South by Southwest Festival.
Style, songwriting and influenceThe Sword is commonly classified as doom metal,[title=The Sword's Biography ] alternative metal[title=Age of Winters > Overview ] comparing their style to that of heavy metal veterans Black Sabbath and vocalist Cronise to Ozzy Osbourne.[last=Owen ] Rolling Stone also likens the band to Sabbath, as does AbsolutePunk.net in its review of Gods of the Earth, claiming that "It's impossible not to compare album to the works of Black Sabbath." 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.
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.[last=DeRogatis ] 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) as a "huge influence." In an interview with entertainment newspaper The A.V. Club, Cronise also revealed that local metal band HRM, rock musician Bob Seger and R&B singer Michael Jackson have been influences on The Sword's sound.
Band members- John "J. D." Cronise – vocals, guitar
- Kyle Shutt – guitar
- Bryan Richie – bass
- Trivett Wingo – drums, percussion
Discography- Age of Winters (2006)
- Gods of the Earth (2008)
- Untitled third studio album (2010)
Copyright Citations
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