A song doesn’t have to be a soft, slow lyrical to have some
good poetic imagery. In fact, in The Sword’s case, even head-banging music can
have some powerful lyrics. The group recently released their latest album,
Apocryphon, and they’re at their highest level of success yet. They’ve gone on
tour with Metallica and been on stage with the likes of Motorhead and Ozzy
Osbourne. Their music has even been used in Guitar
Hero and movies like Jennifer’s Body.
And their acclaim from Rolling Stone, Outburn, and The
Washington Post adds to their growing success. The group, from Austin, Texas,
is a four-man set. They have released four albums thus far through Andres
Santo Domingo’s Kemado Records and Cliff
Chenfeld’s Razor & Tie.
The group is currently on a European tour, which will last
through the end of January. Their last album was based completely on a science
fiction narrative written by front man John Cronise. In it, he focused on
concepts of light versus dark and the perception of time.
Their newest album has an altogether different sound, taking
the band a bit further from doom metal and closer to traditional hard rock. Yet
it is still as hard-hitting as ever, even with some of the restructuring that’s
taken place (their drummer, Trivett Wingo left after the release of their last
album).
The album still has some of its science fiction feel, but
the stories have become more personal. “In a way, I realized music was a vessel
for expressing my own views and thoughts,” said Cronise. “I shied away from
that before in favor of entertaining people with colorful narratives. This is
where I’m at.” The new album is somewhere in between the two, more raw than
past albums, and full of big riffs and gritty songs.
“Set adrift in the multiverse / By the whims of fate / In
thrall to the demiurge / We all await escape,” begins the last song of the new
album, and the one for which it is named: “Apocryphon.” Sacrificing none of its
usual darkness, The Sword’s
newest lyrics have something that speaks to all.
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