Customer Reviews

Gods Of The Earth

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As if their name and albums weren't enough to tip you off, the Sword like to do two things: make references to myths and fantasy, and blast your ears off with eruptions of fiery metal.

And in their second album "Gods of the Earth," this Austin band proceeds to do both -- but with greater intensity than in their debut. Not only do they have Black-Sabbath-style muscle and power that sweeps you off like a tidal wave, but also a wild flexibility that only promises to become more hypnotic in the future.

The first song eases you into the music with a nimble, quiet guitar melody... right before that swell of thunderous bass explodes onto the scene, and it turns into a full-fledged metal anthem. But from the way they play it, you can tell that this is just the buildup.

It's followed by the epic buildup and rapid ascent of "How Heavy This Axe," a blazing war anthem ("So many men have fallen/So many more must die/Cut down like wheat beneath the scythe!"), and "Lords'" tight knifelike riffs twined with heavy grimy clouds of bass. And, of course, lyrics that sound like they were written for some enormous high-fantasy novel ("The dukes of the marches have ordered their archers/To shoot all outlanders on sight").

So you have a pretty good idea of what the remaining songs are going to be, and the Sword rushes on through them like a brush fire. A rollicking hard-rocker that simultaneously sounds like a stampede and a car revving, a meditative folk-metal anthem, blazing yowlfests, tribal metal, eruptions of accelerating bass and wild upward-spiraling riffs.

By the time you get to "The White Sea," you'll probably feel kind of dizzy. Fortunately the album finally slows to a stately dark cloud of grimy bass, with one outburst of wailing riffs near the end.

When you get down to it, all the songs on here sound like the soundtrack to some heavy-metal fantasy movie, with a heavy dose of Norse mythology -- lots of bloody battles, mythical goddesses, destroyed ruins, wizards, damsels, legends, creepy forests, and fantastical/mythic stuff like that. And they'll happily blow your ears off too.

"Gods of the Earth" is just as wild, heavy and rock-hard as the Sword's debut album, but they rev up the tempo with this one -- just listen to the speed of "Under the Boughs." We get raw, rough, intertwined basslines race along at sixty MPH, pausing occasionally for the sharp-edged electric riffs, elaborate acoustic bits, and some solid drumming. But the powerful bass playing is what really pushes this epic, fast-moving music along.

JD Cronise's voice gets a bit buried in the mix, but he yowls nicely when you can hear him. The lyrics are probably the weakest point. They're colourful and evocative ("They come with teeth and tusks and talons/They come with horns and hooves and claws/A wailing cry is heard deep within the forest...") but their lyrics get very stilted at times ("Our legends tell of weapons/Wielded by kings of old/Crafted by evil wizards/Unholy to behold").

In fact, they're at their strongest when they don't try too hard, such as in the relatively simple "Maiden, Mother and Crone": "Walk not down that road/I can not tell you where it goes/Ask me no more questions/Some things you weren't meant to know."

"Gods of the Earth" suffers from some awkward lyrics, but their muscular, blazing, D&D-geeky brand of metal is almost powerful enough to drown that out. Definitely worth hearing.

I'm not a big fan of metal by any means but I love The Sword. Their metal riffs are amazing and there is something about their music that I just can't resist. If you liked their first album you'll love this album. Don't hesitate to buy now.

The first and most appropriate description of this album is that it is "fast." Every song on this album is as fast or faster than anything on Age of Winters. It starts off strong with the intro track but as soon as the second song starts it's obvious that the doom influence is out. Instead, they are leaning much closer to a High on Fire metal type of sound. The singing style has completely changed to match the new, faster style of playing. Now instead of slow-building power found in most songs, it is more of a straight ahead rock sound. The vocals now have a similar quality to Clutch. This album is completely different from what came before.
There are a few stand out songs: namely the two minute intro called "The Sundering" along with "Maiden, Mother & the Crone" and "The Black River" which both appear towards the end of the album. The second through sixth track are all no match for The Sword's previous effort.

The heavy metal hardcore hates it when a band comes from outside the scene to do metal.

They hate it double when that band gets a deal with a large label.

They hate it triple when the band does metal better than the bands that grew from inside the scene.

The heavy metal hardcore hates The Sword.

They listen with their prejudices, not their ears. This band has grown a pair since their last album. They now have their own very distinctive sound, heavier, rawer and faster than the Sabbathian debut. Indeed, there is improvement on every level. Every instrument sounds better; and while the singer will never be great, he has found himself now and fronts the band with aplomb. When you have riffs like this, the singer doesn't need to carry the band. He just needs to carry his own weight. He does it just fine.

It sometime happens that "borderline" metal bands, bands from outside the scene, make the best metal, because they bring a new perspective. The Sword is the best American doom metal band since Danzig, and that's saying something.

If you don't like them for some kind of philosophical reason or because they're too popular, that's your loss. This sounds like true metal to me.

Im new to the sword. Took a few listens for this album to grab me. I think the only thing keeping me from really liking this a lot more is the production. Listen, I know these guys were going for the "raw" live, or classic rock feel. I get that. It's very clever, really. Because noone has ever attempted to do that. My hat goes off to this producer. No, seriously. Unfortunately, it drives me nuts! It makes it hard to listen to this when you feel like your listening to some garage band on a tape recorder. If you want to have your record sound like a live album... release a live album, and your studio album... let's maybe use some of the great technologies developed, even in the last 20 years, and make a studio album. What do ya say fellas? There are some weak points in the song writing, and I wouldnt say that they are very original. It is cool to hear another band embracing some black-sabbath like music... I guess. In all honesty, there are a handful of songs on here that truly rock, and a handful that dont interest me. The vocals can seem a bit monotone after a while. I still like them, but without much range, I can't see these guys keeping things too interesting to make very many memorable albums, but hey mastodon can pull it off... so who knows. Same goes for the guitars. Pretty boring. Nothing too mind blowing. This is a good record to either download, or find for $5 in the discount bin. Dont know if I would spend the usual $15 or whatever these people think a plastic disc is worth these days. Enjoy!

I got The Sword's first album based on the song Freya on Guitar Hero. At first I didn't like the album, but I found I kept listening and it grew on me quite a bit. I gave that album 3.5-4 stars.

Gods of the Earth is a fantastic 2nd effort. The songs are more varied and the riffs within them more varied. The drumming is absolutely incredible and goes a long way towards giving the songs legs. Some songs flow almost seamlessly. Listning to The Black River/The White Sea combo is 10 minutes of musical joy. It's been nearly 9 months and it's still a CD I listen to very reguarly. There's only 2 songs I got tired of quickly: Fire Lances and Under the Boughs.

One thing that really separates The Sword from similar bands is the amount of instrumental music. Some songs are completely instrumental and even songs with lyrics have long sections that are primarily instrumental. It strikes a nerve almost like great classical music, as far as the way I listen to it. It's something I can listen to actively or as background in my headphones while I work.

As mentioned by others, the lyrics are very cheesy, but that doesn't detract from how enjoyable the music is to listen to. Just don't let someone catch you singing the lyrics!

Great second release, a bit different from the first album but i like it nonetheless. My favorite song is "To Take The Black." You will especially like this album if you are a fan of George RR Martins books. I just cant get enough of this great bone crunching sound.

Dude, two words.. Freakin' amazing! In my opinion, this a major stem up from Age Of Winters. Not that AOW was bad, it was amazing, its just that The Sword really raised the "sword" to a new level. You can really see the path these guys are going to take into the future. The second the rediculously heavy guitars in "The Sundering" were registered in my brain, i knew that this album was a classic in the making. These guys are the next Sabbath equivalent, so be ready for these guys to destroy the charts after the next few albums. There is not a boring, slow, or bad song on this album. It is worth the $10 amazon offers for this CD. Buy into the hype, cuz its true. Now don't waste another second w/o this CD!!!!! BUY IT NOW!!

I read the negative reviews and have to say that I don't think we have the same cd. This is a great rock and roll album. If you happen to love stoner rock/metal, you certainly aren't going to hear anything new. BUT, you aren't going to hear anything really new or different in the whole genre. This music is for people who like this kind of music. Don't allow a music snob to make the call for you, hear them yourself.

Being a fan of Electric Wizard and old Kyuss, this band was recommended to me by a friend whose opinion I trust. The trust remains. This disc is wonderful. In parts it reminded me of old Pentegram, and the production retains a great bassy foundation without sacrificing the high end. The song writing is tight, and when the rare solo appears it serves the song well.
I'm also a bit prejudiced beacuse I just saw them last night (May 16) in Philly. Their stage sound is almost as good as their studio sound.