Hook of the Day - The Sword "How Heavy This Axe"

by Wayne

Get yir new Sword video here!

The Sword - New Music - More Music Videos

Cool stuff. Reminds me those old videos of yore, like

Paranoid



and
Highway Star

Another New Sword video!!!

by Wayne Graham

I've been trying to lay off talking about the Sword all the time. We reviewed their latest record, we alerted you to their tour with Metallica this summer, and we showed you their new video for "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephrians" a few weeks back. But how could I resist posting the brand spanking new video for "Maiden, Mother & Crone", courtesy of the good people at Headbanger's Blog ? I couldn't, obviously.



In case you missed it, here's the video for "Fire Lances....". Two totally different approaches. Which is your favorite?

Hook of the Day - Metallica "Battery (live)"

by Wayne Graham

How in the hell did it get to the point where everyone hates on Metallica so much?? Sure, they haven't had a good album since The Black Album. In fact their last album--St. Anger--is pretty lousy. And they didn't win many points with the Napster thing. And, while it's a good movie, they didn't rack up the cool points with "Some Kind of Monster." And Lars IS pretty irritating.

But do they get NO credit for their first five albums being metal classics? Or for being a top-drawer live act? Or, as reported on Blabbermouth, for knowing how to put a summer tour together? Looks like the guys are bringing out Down and The Sword on their European Summer Vacation Tour this year. THAT, my friend, is a hell of a bill.

Let's enjoy a 1989 live clip of Metallica tearing through "Battery" and hope that they'll bring those bands to the U.S. in the fall, and that they give us a great new album this year.

Album of the Week - The Sword "Gods of the Earth"

Wayne's Take:

In short, your opinion of The Sword after listening to their latest album, Gods of the Earth, will be pretty much the same as your opinion going into it. If you enjoyed the Sabbath-meets-Maiden riffing on 2006's Age of Winters, you'll find just as much to love on this one. If you're a tr00-Nazi who sticks up his nose at any metal band that gets the thumbs up by the indie cognoscenti, then go on your way, you're only wasting your time here. I think Xasthur might have a new album that you might enjoy more.

That said, even after several weeks of tearing into this one, it's not immediately clear how the new platter stacks up to the band's debut, at least in a "Which one is better?" situation. It's a close call. While I mightily enjoy the instrumental majesty of Gods-opener "The Sundering", I can't help but be a little let down that it doesn't lead to a bigger climax, or at least segue more seamlessly into the next track, much in the way that "Celestial Crown" led into "Barael's Blade" on Winters. After the opener, there's nothing in the first chunk of Gods--good as it is--that stacks up to the "Celestial Crown-Barael's Blade-Freya-Winter's Wolves" opening stretch on Winters.

It's wildly unfair, of course, to expect a second album to work the same magic as the first. Besides, this is very light criticism, especially when you consider that once the record hits first single "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians", the whole thing catches on fire, and doesn't let up for the remainder of the album, going instantly from "very good" to "excellent." The band--while still very much in the Iommi y Ozzy tradition--goes on to play even further with their NWOBHM-twin guitar elements and Slayer-esque thrashabouts than they did on the debut, and the results are explosively entertaining. Guitarists J.D. Cronise and Kyle Shutt dispense plenty of Two Horn Tasty riffs on this bastard, and Cronise's vocals give the right amount of weight to what are basically lyrics about battles and wizards and other D&D-styled dorkery. Special attention is also to be paid to one of contemporary hard rock's best rhythm sections--bassist Bryan Ritchie and the shirtless, straight-backed beast that is drummer Trivett Wingo. These guys do a great job laying down solid rolling thunder for Cronise and Shutt to play on top of, and yet, they manage to do so in ways that make them stand out, as well. Ritchie is fantastic at supporting the main riffs, while throwing in nice counterpoint of his own, while Wingo does some of the most tribal, most musical drumming that I've heard so far this year.


Mark's take:

I made a list of random musings on the Sword for this week's review

1. Thank you, Rock Gods, for the Sword
2.Thank you for The Age of Winters
3. Thank you for the last half of 'Gods of the Earth,' because in my opinion, the last half is a bit more cohesive than the first half. Yet the first half is pretty damn good.
4. Thanks Mr Wingo for moving from Seattle to Austin. And for drumming without your shirt on. That's hot.
5. Thanks for letting me be honored to have seen these guys at the Subterranean when I did.
6. Thanks for allowing me to see them at Reggies when I did.
7. Thank you for the Battle imagry despite your normal appearances.
8. Thanks for sounding like a young energetic Black Sabbath
9. Thanks for the guitar solos that seem to come from nowhere and sound as effortless as good rock can sound.
10. Thank you to whoever makes those little frozen Taquitos that I get at the store that I usually eat when I get home from metal concerts....

Hook of the Day - The Sword (playing as Zombie Eaters) "From Out of Nowhere"

by Wayne Graham

Thanks to YouTube poster BradTheProducer for uploading this clip of The Sword performing Faith No More's "From Out of Nowhere" during their FNM cover set at SXSW a couple of weeks ago. A bit fuzzy, but you get the idea.

New Video Alert - The Sword "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians"

by Wayne Graham

Muchas gracias to the fine folks at Stereogum for posting the new video for The Sword's "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians." This is one of the best tracks from the band's outstanding new album Gods of the Earth, due on April 1st from Kemado Records.

The Sword---Faith No More coverband???

by Wayne Graham

According to BrooklynVegan, Austin metal flag-wavers The Sword will continue their annual tribute band tradition at South by Southwest, this time performing under the name "Zombie Eaters." Expect nothing but Faith No More songs, performed with The Sword's characteristic gusto.

Needless to say, if you're in Austin tomorrow, there's no better place to be. For further details, click HERE.

As soon as we get any clips of this, we'll post 'em right here.

Today in E-cards : The Sword and Meshuggah

by Wayne Graham

Howdy. There are a couple of E-cards available on the web today that warrant your attention.

One is for the latest Meshuggah release ObZen, coming your way this Tuesday from Nuclear Blast Records. Check out the E-card here, where you can sample each of the album's tracks (in the event that you didn't listen to the entire thing on Meshuggah's MySpace page earlier this week).

The second is for Gods of the Earth, the upcoming album from The Sword, in stores on April 1st, courtesy of Kemado Records. Check out upcoming tourdates, sample tracks, view an album promo, and download the (very excellent) first single "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians" at the location here.

The whole Hooks So Big gang have heard both of these records, and prepare yourself, both of them are outstanding. We'll have our obZen thoughts for you early next week. A review of Gods of the Earth is forthcoming, as well.