The Sword
Encyclopedia
The Sword is an American heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band that formed in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, in 2003. Since its inception the band has comprised vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt and bassist Bryan Richie, and currently includes touring drummer Jimmy Vela following Trivett Wingo's departure in November 2010. Signed to New York-based independent label Kemado Records
Kemado Records
Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002. In 2006 the label released the Invaders compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Witchcraft, High on Fire and Witch.In 2008, Kemado introduced its...

, the group released debut album Age of Winters
Age of Winters
- Personnel :The Sword* John "J. D." Cronise – vocals, guitars, production, mixing* Kyle Shutt – guitars, mixing* Bryan Richie – bass, engineering, mixing* Trivett Wingo – drums, mixingAdditional personnel...

in 2006, which was largely written by Cronise prior to the band's formation. The band's second album, Gods of the Earth
Gods of the Earth
-Lyrics:Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River". "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's...

, was released two years later and gave the group its first Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 chart entry. Warp Riders
Warp Riders
Warp Riders is the third studio album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released on August 24, 2010. Recorded between February and April 2010 at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas, the album was produced by Matt Bayles, marking the first time the band had hired an external producer...

, a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

 centered on an original science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 narrative, was released in August 2010.

Early years and debut album (2003–2007)

After writing and recording music on his own for "a few years", singer and guitarist J. D. Cronise formed The Sword in 2003 with guitarist Kyle Shutt and drummer Trivett Wingo; bassist Bryan Richie joined later in 2004. Cronise and Wingo had been in a band called Ultimate Dragons, based in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, while Shutt and Richie had been performing in Texas bands "united by a love of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

" Cronise had also performed with a local band called Those Peabodys, but left as he felt he "needed to do something heavier." After their first live performance together on March 18, 2004, the band released an eponymous demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

, The Sword, which was followed the next year by an extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 (EP) entitled Freya
Freya (EP)
-Personnel:*J. D. Cronise – vocals, guitar, production, mixing*Kyle Shutt – guitar*Bryan Richie – bass, engineering*Trivett Wingo – drums...

. After performing at the 2005 South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 festival, the band was signed by New York-based record label Kemado Records
Kemado Records
Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002. In 2006 the label released the Invaders compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Witchcraft, High on Fire and Witch.In 2008, Kemado introduced its...

;

The Sword released its debut album Age of Winters
Age of Winters
- Personnel :The Sword* John "J. D." Cronise – vocals, guitars, production, mixing* Kyle Shutt – guitars, mixing* Bryan Richie – bass, engineering, mixing* Trivett Wingo – drums, mixingAdditional personnel...

in February 2006, much of the material for which had been written by Cronise before the band's formation. In support of the album, the band toured in 2006 and 2007 with Early Man
Early Man (band)
Early Man is a heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York, now based in Los Angeles, California. Guitarist and vocalist Mike Conte began performing under the name "Early Man" in the early 2000s, and when drummer Adam Bennati moved to New York in 2003, the two formed the nucleus for the current line-up...

, Priestess
Priestess (band)
Priestess is a Canadian stoner rock band formed in 2003 by Mikey Heppner , Mike Dyball , Vince Nudo , and Dan Watchorn .-Biography:...

, Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...

 and Trivium
Trivium (band)
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...

 in the United States; Nebula
Nebula (band)
Nebula was a psychedelic stoner rock band, formed by guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano after departing from Fu Manchu in 1997. Rob Oswald later replaced Ruben Romano on drums in 2007....

 and Clutch
Clutch (band)
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...

 in Europe; and Lamb of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...

 in Japan. In June 2007 they contributed a new song, "Under the Boughs" (which was later included on their second album), to the Kemado compilation Invaders. "Freya" was later released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in September 2007.

Gods of the Earth and mainstream recognition (2007–2009)

In November the song "Freya" was covered and featured as a playable track on the video game Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...

. The group released a split EP
The Sword/Witchcraft split
-Personnel:The Sword*J. D. Cronise – vocals, guitars*Kyle Shutt – guitars*Bryan Richie – bass, engineering, mixing*Trivett Wingo – drumsWitchcraft*Magnus Pelander – vocals, guitars*John Hoyles – guitars...

 with Swedish doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 band Witchcraft
Witchcraft (band)
Witchcraft is a Swedish hard rock band founded in 2000.-History:Magnus Pelander formed Witchcraft in 2000 in order to record a tribute to Pentagram's Bobby Liebling and Roky Erickson. The "No Angel or Demon" single was released in 2002 by Primitive Art Records which caught the ear of Lee Dorrian's...

; The Sword's contribution included a new track, "Sea of Spears", as well as a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song
Immigrant Song
"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, in 1970.-Overview:...

". Gods of the Earth
Gods of the Earth
-Lyrics:Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River". "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's...

was the band's second album, released on April 1, 2008. The album, much more of a collaborative writing effort than its predecessor, provided the band with its first Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 albums chart entry, reaching number 102. In support of the album the band completed the Gods of the Earth Tour
Gods of the Earth Tour
The Gods of the Earth Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American heavy metal band The Sword. The tour, which was in support of the band's second album, Gods of the Earth, began on March 23, 2008, ended on December 16, 2008 and included eighty-two shows played over six legs...

, supported by bands including Machine Head
Machine Head (band)
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991, the group was founded by Robb Flynn and Adam Duce. There have been 4 member changes since their inception. The current lineup of the band comprises Flynn , Duce , ex-Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel ,...

, Lamb of God and Clutch. The quartet also supported heavy metal veterans Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

 on their 2008 European Vacation Tour in July, and returned as the opening act on a number of legs on their World Magnetic Tour
World Magnetic Tour
World Magnetic Tour was a 2008/2009/2010 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the group's ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, which was released in September 2008....

, which continued through the opening months of 2009 until May.

A two-disc box set containing Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth was released on November 25, and the song "The Black River", from Gods of the Earth, was included on the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...

, released in North America on March 29, 2009. The band's music was also featured in the 2009 films Jennifer's Body
Jennifer's Body
Jennifer's Body is a 2009 black comedy horror film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a newly-possessed teenage serial killer specializing in killing her male classmates as her best friend...

("Celestial Crown") and Horsemen ("Maiden, Mother & Crone"). In March 2009 The Sword won two local music awards: the High Times Doobie Award and the Austin Music Award for Best Metal Artist.

Warp Riders and change in direction (2009–present)

The Sword spent much of 2009 writing a third album, which took the form of "a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

 centered around an original science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 narrative" and had more of a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 sound than the band's previous releases. Some of the new songs were debuted at the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest is an annual music festival held in Austin, Texas. Started in 2006, the festival brings together many progressive and underground musicians with a focus on indie rock, punk rock/hardcore, and hip hop/DJ....

 in November and played on "a short regional tour
The Sword United States Tour 2010
The United States Tour 2010 was a short concert tour by American heavy metal band The Sword. The tour, which was in preparation for the band's third major tour, began on January 23, ended on January 29, and included seven shows. The band were supported at all shows by progressive metal band...

 showcasing the new songs", which comprised seven shows in seven cities between January 23 and 29. Recording for the third album began in Austin at Wire Recording in February 2010. Matt Bayles
Matt Bayles
-Information:Bayles is known for his work with bands such as Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, The Fall of Troy, Minus The Bear, Burnt by the Sun and Norma Jean....

 was hired to produce
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

 the album – a first for the band, as Cronise and Richie had respectively produced and engineered both Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth. Recording of the album, titled Warp Riders
Warp Riders
Warp Riders is the third studio album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released on August 24, 2010. Recorded between February and April 2010 at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas, the album was produced by Matt Bayles, marking the first time the band had hired an external producer...

, was completed by April.

In May the band contributed to a split EP for the second time, covering Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...

's "Cold Sweat
Cold Sweat (Thin Lizzy song)
"Cold Sweat" is a song by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, and is the fifth track on their final studio album Thunder and Lightning. It was co-written by guitarist John Sykes and Phil Lynott, and became the biggest single from the album, entering the UK charts at #27, and peaking at #23 in Ireland.The...

" for a Volcom Entertainment
Volcom Entertainment
Volcom Entertainment, officially founded in 1995, in Newport Beach, California, and currently based in Costa Mesa, CA is the brainchild of Volcom founder Richard Woolcott and theLINE's singer/guitarist Ryan Immegart. Ryan being Volcom's first sponsored snowboarder and having a love for music...

 "Vinyl Club" release with Year Long Disaster
Year Long Disaster
Year Long Disaster is a Stoner rock band from Los Angeles, California.-History:The band had its beginnings in 2003 when guitarist and singer Daniel Davies met bassist Rich Mullins of Karma to Burn in a Hollywood grocery store; at the time Mullins was having drug problems and was homeless...

, who covered The Sword's own track "Maiden, Mother & Crone". In July, Warp Riders lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...

 "Tres Brujas
Tres Brujas
"Tres Brujas" is a song by American heavy metal band The Sword, featured on their 2010 third studio album Warp Riders. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise and guitarist Kyle Shutt, the song was released in the United States as the lead single from the album as a digital...

" was released as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

, and a live EP
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...

 entitled iTunes Festival: London 2010
ITunes Festival: London 2010 (The Sword EP)
-Personnel:*J. D. Cronise – vocals, guitar*Kyle Shutt – guitar*Bryan Richie – bass*Trivett Wingo – drums...

(recorded at the iTunes Festival
ITunes Festival
The iTunes Festival is an annual music festival and concert series which is held in London at The Roundhouse art centre and sponsored by Apple Inc. It was first held in 2007...

 in London on July 3) was also released as an iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

-exclusive download. A week after the album's August 24 release, Warp Riders surpassed the commercial performance of Gods of the Earth when it debuted at number 47 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling almost 9,000 copies in the first week of its release. The band supported Metallica again on a series of September tour dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan as a warm-up for its own Warp Riders Tour
Warp Riders Tour
Rescheduled tour dates-Tour dates:...

, which began the following month.

Lineup change and future plans

Five shows into the opening North American leg, The Sword was forced to postpone the entire Warp Riders Tour due to the departure of drummer Trivett Wingo. Wingo commented that he felt "physically and emotionally unable to continue on as part of [the band]", and later revealed that he had predicted that he would 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." Upon Wingo's departure from The Sword, the band said in a statement:
The band enlisted the services of local musician Kevin Fender to perform with Cronise, Shutt and Richie as a temporary touring member of The Sword. The second single from Warp Riders, "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire
(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire
" Tears of Fire", commonly referred to as simply "Tears of Fire", is a song by American heavy metal band The Sword, featured on their 2010 third studio album Warp Riders. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist John "J...

", was released as a limited edition picture disc at the beginning of November backed with new B-side "Farstar", and later in the month the video for "Lawless Lands" – part two of the Warp Riders trilogy – was published online. A number of European dates were rescheduled for May 2011, and the third and final Warp Riders music video "Night City" was released in March. Between June and August, the band returned to tour North America.

Sometime during the 2011 touring cycle, Kevin Fender was replaced with drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela.

Style, songwriting and influence

While commonly labelled as a doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 band, The Sword has also been identified as an example of the 'retro metal' movement of stoner rock
Stoner rock
Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...

 artists influenced by early metal bands such as Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 and Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...

.The Sword has also been dubbed as 'hipster metal,' though Cronise and the band object to such a label. In addition to Sabbath, to whom the band is commonly compared, artists such as Sleep
Sleep (band)
Sleep is a stoner doom metal band from San Jose, California. Active during the 1990s, Sleep earned critical and record label attention early in their career. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on heavy metal...

, Melvins and Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

 have been cited as influences by members of the band. With the release of Warp Riders, members of the band acknowledged that fans with a more "narrow-minded" view of heavy metal may feel alienated by stylistic changes. Eduardo Rivadavia of allmusic describes the band as being "at the forefront of … the 'heritage' or 'retro metal' movement," comparing their style to that of heavy metal veterans Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

 and vocalist Cronise to Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...

. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

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 [the album] to the works of Black Sabbath."

While every member of the band contributes to the musical compositions, Cronise is the primary writer of the band's lyrics. He often uses Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

 as a topic in his lyrics, notably in the song "Freya", but cites literature as his main influence, identifying such authors as George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...

, Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....

, H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....

 and Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...

 as inspirations. On Warp Riders, Cronise was again credited for writing all the lyrics, and only guitarist Kyle Shutt was added to the credits for the musical compositions.

The band has cited Black Sabbath as a major influence, in addition to doom trio Sleep
Sleep (band)
Sleep is a stoner doom metal band from San Jose, California. Active during the 1990s, Sleep earned critical and record label attention early in their career. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on heavy metal...

, sludge
Sludge metal
Sludge metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that melds elements of doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes incorporates influences from southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. Sludge metal is typically abrasive; often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting...

 band the Melvins, thrash
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 veterans Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

, and heavy metal icons Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

 and Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

, among others. The band's guitarists, in discussions of their musical influences, have identified 'classic' metal guitar players such as James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...

 of Metallica, Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...

's Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...

 and Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...

 of Black Sabbath, and Cronise has also described Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...

 (of ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

) as a "huge influence." In an interview with entertainment newspaper The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...

, Cronise also revealed that local metal band HRM, rock musician Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...

 and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 singer Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 have been influences on The Sword's sound.

Band members

Current members
  • John D. "J. D." Cronise – vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (2003–present)
  • Kyle Shutt – guitar (2003–present)
  • Bryan Richie – bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (2003–present)

Current touring musicians
  • Santiago "Jimmy" Vela – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

     (2011–present)


Former members
  • Trivett Wingo – drums, percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

     (2003–2010)

Former touring musicians
  • Kevin Fender – drums (2010–2011)


Timeline

Discography

  • Age of Winters
    Age of Winters
    - Personnel :The Sword* John "J. D." Cronise – vocals, guitars, production, mixing* Kyle Shutt – guitars, mixing* Bryan Richie – bass, engineering, mixing* Trivett Wingo – drums, mixingAdditional personnel...

    (2006)
  • Gods of the Earth
    Gods of the Earth
    -Lyrics:Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River". "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's...

    (2008)
  • Warp Riders
    Warp Riders
    Warp Riders is the third studio album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released on August 24, 2010. Recorded between February and April 2010 at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas, the album was produced by Matt Bayles, marking the first time the band had hired an external producer...

    (2010)

External links

Official websites
  • The Sword at Kemado Records
    Kemado Records
    Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002. In 2006 the label released the Invaders compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Witchcraft, High on Fire and Witch.In 2008, Kemado introduced its...


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