### The Sword: Age of winters

#### 02/09/11 || InquisitorGeneralis

Breath in the smoke, bow to the heaviness of the riff, let it be your master!

What led him to that dark, dingy basement that night, he didn’t know. A desire for a simpler, heavy sound has been growing in the recesses of his mind for years. Sure, metal was becoming more and more technical; solos and arpeggios soared to new heights of wankery while bass drums exploded with thousands upon thousands of rapid fire burst. Pro tools had come to make every band in the world sound like they had Mutt Land Bob Rock chained up in their basements. But, where was the soul? Where was the spirit of Jimmy Page fucking some hooker with a dead shark? Where was th rock and roll attitude that made guitar heroes and singers alike gods among men in the 60’s and 70’s? Sure, players now can hummingbird blast and sweep like an illegal housecleaner, but can they rock?

These questions swirled in his mind as he donned his flannel shirt and wandered off into the cool Texas night. He desired something heavy, but not extreme; something simple and groovy but not boring. Fellow Texan’s Pantera had always fulfilled this desire, but even classic records like “Far Beyond Driven” and “Vulgar Display of Power” need a rest. Traditional stoner metal, riff-heavy as it may be, had always bored him. He wandered down the dimly-lit alley, no closer to an answer than before…until he saw the flicking neon sign for Mr. Wu’s House of Exotic Treasures and Metal Music in the distance darkness. Intrigued, he ventured inside…

The hunched-over, ancient man inside told him of a new group yet to be heard. “You seek the riff? The rock? You desire The Sword, open your ears to “Age of Winters”. He flicked on an antique radio and the smooth yet heavy grooves of “Freya” filled the room like the acrid smoke from his ivory pipe. He liked the throwback-sounding production and prominent guitars. The vocals weren’t great, but anything even remotely related to stoner and/doom metal they never are. To him, it was clear The Sword were more influenced by Sabbath and Pentagram than Atheist and Venom. The songs all seemed to follow the same pattern and style, but that pattern of riff-powered choruses and big-time solos was enjoyable. “March of the lor”, “The horned goddess”, “Iron swan”, and “Winter’s wolves” all filled him with the soothing groove-laden happiness. “The horned goddess” especially brought slow, sweet, syrupy goodness to his ears. “Lament for the Aurochs” was more of an epic, longer track but still followed the same (successful) pattern of most of the other song he heard. The lyrical content, about ancient, extinct cow things, was also pretty fucken cool. The Sword tickled the same nerve in him that also was tuned to Down, Corrosion of Conformity, Baroness, Mastodon, and Kylesa.

How many hours had he been there? Inhaling the fumes from Wu’s pipe and nodding his head along to the solid groves of this band? He didn’t know, time had lost its meaning, if only for a brief period. He knew this was quality band, and something that would be a nice change of pace from the more brutal metal he fancied himself a fan of. And, while “Age of Winters” didn’t feature much variety, it was packed with enjoyable tunes and a fuckload of catchy, southern-inspired, heavy guitar work. He must have it. Wu gladly handed him a copy of “Age of Winters”, along with a divination of future things to come.

“In the future”, Wu said “I see The Sword doing good things and eventually great things, but if you enjoy their heavy, stoner-influenced metal you must start with “Age of Winters”, it is the only way…”

- Information
- Released: 2006
- Label: Kemado
- Website: www.theswordofdoom.com
- Band
- John “J. D.” Cronise: vocals, guitars
- Kyle Shutt: guitars
- Bryan Richie: bass
- Trivett Wingo: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Celestial Crown
- 02. Barael’s Blade
- 03. Freya
- 04. Winter’s Wolves
- 05. The Horned Goddess
- 06. Iron Swan
- 07. Lament for the Auroch
- 08. March of the Lor
- 09. Ebethron