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The Sword and Huntress prepare to conquer Download 2013

Posted in News with tags Amon Amarth, Donington Park, Download Festival, Napalm Records, Sword on 16th January 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Both The Sword and Huntress, along with bands such as Limp Bizkit, Korn, Airbourne, Enter Shikari, Cancer Bats, Amon Amarth and 30 more names have been announced to play Download 2013.

They’ll be joining headliners Slipknot, Iron Maiden, and Rammstein, as well as Bullet for My Valentine, Mastodon, Stone Sour, Volbeat and Coal Chamber, for what’s set to be THE biggest weekend in the rock calendar on 14-16 June 2013 at the ‘home of rock’, Donington Park.

The Sword have just decimated the UK on the back of their latest album Apocryphon.

The almighty operatic banshee Jill Janus and the boys from Huntress will also make a welcome return after their three shows here last year. Huntress have stated that they’re honoured to be playing this year’s Download Festival and have promised to unleash fury at festival.

Weekend and Day tickets for Download 2013 are on sale now and available from this location.

Apocryphon by The Sword is out now on Napalm Records.
BUY IT AT THIS LOCATION.

Spell Eater by Huntress is out now on Napalm Records.
BUY IT AT THIS LOCATION.

The Sword – Apocryphon

Posted in Review with tags Age of Winters, Razor & Tie, Stoner rock, Sword, Winter on 4th November 2012 by Paul

The Sword
Apocryphon
Released October 22^nd 2012
Metal
Released via Razor and Tie Entertainment

I’m a bit of a sucker for 70s and early 80s Heavy Metal. Simple riffs, guitar solos, silly lyrics about space and dragons and such; artwork that looks like a Molly Hatchet album cover, and so on. It seems that Texas band The Sword feel the same way, and their brand of retro metal has been among the most noteworthy examples of the past decades wave of retro bands. You probably have a good idea of how this band sounds by this point. Stoner Metal with an emphasis on simple and catchy riffs with no frills and a lot of fun. It is simple and it works; and manages to sound mellow and heavy at the same time which means it is quite a fun listen, especially if you spend your days listening to extreme metal.

The band have slowly adopted a more Classic Rock approach over time, though they no longer seem to have the energy they once had, and very few of these songs are anywhere near as memorable as their great debut Age of Winters. My favourite track is the title track, which somewhat unconventionally appears at the end of the record. It’s an album full of well-constructed hooks and riffs, and the songs do their job although but most of them are not as memorable as they should be. The song writing is tighter and more controlled but it lacks the vitality of previous releases. It doesn’t help that the production on this release is more polished than the more raw sound of their earlier work. Still this is an enjoyable effort that should please fans of the band. The Sword seems to really enjoy the kind of music that they make and it shows. They are now well-versed in this particular niche and continue to produce this no-nonsense music. An enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes.

3.4/5

Paul Gibbins

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The Sword to release new album ‘Apocryphon’ in Europe on Napalm Records

Posted in News with tags Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Austin Texas, Bay Area Thrashers, J. H. Williams III, Lars Ulrich, Sword on 3rd September 2012 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

The Sword’s fourth longplayer will hit the streets on November 5, 2012 in the UK and features cover art by legendary comic book artists J.H. Williams III (Batwoman, Promethea). The new songs were produced and mixed by J. Robbins (Clutch, Jawbox). The Sword will embark on a worldwide tour in support of Apocryphon.

Having sold more than 200,000 units in the U.S. alone, The Sword is one of the major forces in heavy music today. Since its birth in the early 2000s, the Heavy Doom outfit from Austin, Texas has been releasing brilliant and epic albums, presenting countless fans with hymns and soon to be classics like Freya or How Heavy this Axe. Handpicked by Lars Ulrich, The Sword supported Metallica on their Death Magnetic tour, playing more than 60 shows with the legendary Bay Area Thrashers.

In other news, The Sword will appear Monday, September 3rd at 9 PM ET/PT on Travel Channel’s highly rated show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations-The Final Tour. The show was shot in March in Austin, Texas at the SXSW music festival. You can watch a short clip taken from the show below. In this episode, The Sword introduces Bourdain to their branded hot sauce Tears of Fire. As of Tuesday September 4th, the sauce will be available for sale at here.