Austin Sound

When we last left our band of fearless warriors in the Sword, they had just taken off in their Battlestar Metallica after slaughtering the “Tres Brujas.” This second video in the Warp Riders saga came out before the holiday, but we would be very remiss in not continuing the trilogy by posting “Lawless Lands”. This one, done by Artificial Army, doesn’t really advance the plot much, but we do get some more awesome images of the band wielding swords in some little bit of meta choreography as the quartet rides the Warp (?) to planet number 2. To be honest, we’re a little lost on where all this is going, but hopefully we’ll figure it out when they release the final episode with “Night City.” If you missed the Sword at the Mohawk on New Years Eve (now featuring new drummer Kevin Fender from Employer, Employer) it may be a while before you’ll have a chance to catch them again, unless you’re planning a trip to Australia in the next couple of months. But we think they do still have for sell the badasslimited edition hexagon picture vinyl of Warp Riders if you want to go ahead and buy yourself the Christmas gift that your mother refused to get you. Check out the video for “Lawless Lands” below:

Well, we didn’t see this coming. A press release just dropped in our inbox informing us that the Sword’s drummer, Trivett Wingo, has quit the band, and that the metalsmiths are canceling their remaining tour dates. We guess after you’ve played the ACL Festival, what else is there to aspire to, right? Wingo’s leaving, according to the press release is completely amicable (but, of course, if it doesn’t say that then you’re doing PR wrong). It seems Wingo’s just exhausted and spent after hammering away at it for seven years. Fair enough, and those were some pretty crazy times! We suppose this means that there will finally be more opportunities to catch In Dudero, but more importantly, that the Sword is now looking for a drummer? Half the folks at Headhunters just ran home to make their audition tape. Read the statements from Wingo and the band below, which may or may not have actually been said by them, but were sent out in the press release.

Holy hell! If you missed the Sword yesterday in the Waterloo parking lot, this should help you regret it even more. Today the Sword unsheathes their new album, Warp Riders, on Kemado, and to celebrate they have offered up the first of their “Warp Riders” series of videos. Last month, we previewed the mp3 of “Tres Brujas”, and let’s just say that the video lives up to the epicness of the song. We’ll let you tease out what exactly the story is here, basically because we can’t figure it out. The press release says that it is “Seven Samurai crossed with The Magnificent Seven meets Mad Max filtered through the imagination of the Sword”, which works for us except that the Sword is only a quartet. This video will be followed by two more, ““Lawless Lands” and “Night City,” so you’ll have to wait to see how it all ends. We predict total domination by the Sword though. In the meantime, your next chance to catch them locally is at the Austin City Limits Music Fest in October, after they return from slaughtering Australia and Japan. Check out the video below.

You really have to respect a band like the Sword, and not because we’re intimidated by them. They are one of Austin’s biggest bands at the moment, riding some awesome success, and about to release their third album, Warp Riders (Kemado), and play the ACL Fest in October. (We’re really holding out hope that there will finally be the much demanded Sword/Asleep at the Wheel jam session at ACL!) So what do Austin’s reigning metal gods have in store for their third album? Well, according to the press release, it’s an “epic sci-fi narrative” exploring “dualistic themes such as light vs dark and organic vs artificial.” Um, OK! So Warp Riders will be like the sequel to Time Bandits, or something? “Tres Brujas” is the lead single from Warp Riders, and we hope it becomes the theme song for whatever freakin’ online anime series this album is inevitably going to inspire. In fact, there is apparently a three part video series that the Sword will be rolling out over the next few weeks in anticipation of the album. We really can’t wait to see who they cast as the Tres Brujas! While we wait for that great reveal though, check out the track below. (Photo by Matt Rainwaters)

In these days of bleak, wintery weather, it’s nice to remember better times. Like Fun Fun Fun Fest, which was, well, ok, the weather sucked then, too. But at least we were miserable together, right? The F3 folks are trying to let the memories linger, and have been uploading videos of live performances for the past few weeks. We picked a couple of our local favorites, including the Strange Boys debuting the title track from their upcoming sophomore album, Be Brave in the rain. The local lads provided one of the highlights of the fest, especially with the addition of new member and just-moments-before-disbanded Mika Miko fixture Jenna Thornhill, who wails away nicely on sax. It’s actually rather uncanny how similar Ryan Sambol and Thornhill sound when they’re moaning out their ragged R&B. We’ve also posted video below of the Sword unloading “Barael’s Blade,”, because even making fun of Neon Indian is getting boring, especially when the Sword is simply so much better. So if you want to see the videos of Neon Indian or some Jesus Lizard insanity, as well as a bunch of other great live vids from the Fest, check out the Fun Fun Fun Youtube channel. (Thanks to Ultra8201 for the catch).

There is no band in Austin right now more on their way to domination than The Sword, the lords of thunder that have ripped the local music scene’s indie heart with their heavy pummel of guitars and metal sprung from Black Sabbath’s burning altar. Riding upon an epic sweep, the local quartet has branded Red River behind a fierce doom and sludge onslaught, carving out an international reputation on the strength of their two acclaimed albums, 2006’s Age of Winters and last year’s Gods of the Earth, as well as being tapped to open for Metallica on their 2008 tour. We spoke with the Sword’s frontman J.D. Cronise about the band’s helping forge an unlikely metal resurgence from Austin, his songwriting, and the surprising details of the band’s third LP, planned to be released next year (acoustic guitars!). The Sword will be laying waste to Waterloo Park on Saturday, November 7, as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest, scheduled to play at 4:25 on the Black stage.

Austin’s The Sword may be, as their latest full length album claims, the Gods of the Earth, but that doesn’t mean the gods-on-high have forgotten them. Following up on what was called by many the essential metal album of 2006, as well as an endorsement by a certain video game that shall remain nameless, the Sword had a lot of pressure coming from all sides. Can a band that owes so much of its style to now-defunct metal legends continue its trend of wanton, no-holds-barred retro metal without having the irony fade? The answer, simply, is yes: if this is Th Sword’s sophomore slump, I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

Falling heavily on the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doctrine, Gods of the Earth, like Age of Winters before it, starts off with a vocal-free intro track to build momentum. This time around, though, the bands maturity, not simply their power chords, blares through. An acoustic guitar, supported by restrained electric notes, establishes a calm that quickly breaks into the more familiar hail of overdriven triplets in a way that can only be described as spiritually

Thursday, March 20, 2008

What better way to shake off a little post-SXSW rust than with an epic fist to the senses by way of The Sword’s brand spanking new video for Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians. I quipped about the metal outfit a couple of weeks back, so if you weren’t convinced of their loudness then you will be now. The video, downloadable song and full album ECARD await you after the jump.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Artist: The Sword
Label: Kemado Records
Genre: Metal

When it comes to the Sword I think you can more than likely divide everyone into two groups. One would have those of you who only know them because they were in Guitar Hero II, and the other would consist of music fans who dig a heavier sound. If you’re in the latter group then you’ll be pleased to find that we have the first single from the band’s sophomore effort, Gods Of The Earth, and a link to a full streaming version of the album. The goods await you after the jump.

11/15/06
The Plug Awards, which might be considered indie music’s anti-Grammy’s, has announced the nominees for their 2007 awards. Categories for the awards include your usual best artist and album, but also branch out into best local record store, venue and online publication. Austin is decently represented among the nominees this year, unlike last year which saw a lot of Spoon but not much else. (Although Super! Alright! was responsible for the awesome opening video for last year’s ceremony).

In the running for Best New Artist are both Voxtrot and the Black Angels, a nice recognition of the promising talent we have here. The Black Angels were also nominated for Album Art/Packaging. The Sword is up for Metal Album of the Year with Age of Winters and Alejandro Escovedo for Americana Album with The Boxing Mirror while I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness’ impressive video for “The Owl” got a nod. Midlake got several nominations – Indie Album of the Year, Song of the Year for “Roscoe” and Video from “Young Bride.”