THE SWORD’s brand new album, Gods of the Earth, debuts at #102 on the
Billboard Top 200 chart in its first week of release.
Gods of the Earth also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Heatseekers”
chart, #1 on Billboard’s “New Artist” chart and at #5 on Billboard’s
“Tastemakers” chart. The follow up to the Austin, TX-based band’s 2006
debut, Age of Winters, Gods of the Earth was released via Kemado Records and
has met to scads of critical acclaim in the weeks leading up to its April 1
release.
On the heels of the band’s Billboard debut,
THE SWORD has announced
summer, 2008 tour dates with the legendary Metallica. The influential metal
band has called
THE SWORD, “one of our favorite bands of the last few
years,” (source: Metallica.com
) and hand-picked the explosive quartet to open for it on a slew of European
live dates, beginning July 16 in Bergen, Norway. Joining Metallica and
THE
SWORD on the tour will be New Orleans’ Down.
Additionally,
THE SWORD will perform as one of the featured artists of
the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival, set to take place June 12-15 in
Manchester, TN. Known for showcasing “some of the best performers in rock
and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles,” Bonnaroo
2008 will see
THE SWORD perform alongside Metallica, Sigur Ros, Robert Plant
and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, M.I.A., Willie Nelson and more. A full
listing of upcoming
THE SWORD live dates follows this message.
THE SWORD features guitarist / vocalist J.D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle
Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Trivett Wingo.
To check out the Gods of the Earth E-card, featuring “Fire Lances Of
The Ancient Hyperzephyrians,” visit this location
.
“You know how Indians used to hunt buffalo by forcing them off a
cliff, and they’d fall to the rocks? That’s kind of what they sound
like.like a bunch of bison being pushed over a cliff.” –
SPIN
“
THE SWORD believe in loud the way it used to be” –
ROLLING STONE
“metal madness.in the gleefully excessive world of metal revivalists
the Sword, it’s always a quarter past doom o’clock.” –
BLENDER
“this four-piece specializes in old-school heavy metal that uncannily
recalls Black Sabbath’s sonic template. Delivering its lyrics of bloody
medieval carnage without even the slightest hint of irony, The Sword strives
to burnish the genre’s tarnished breastplate.” –
THE NEW YORKER
“Like the strongest, most authentic poets (or metal bands),
THE
SWORD’s might reforms the past, deforms the present and informs the future.
Long may they slash.” –
DECIBEL
“some of the heaviest, catchiest riffs ever put to tape.as true, and as
sinisterly black-and-blue, as doom metal gets.” –
ALTERNATIVE PRESS
“With a war chest of razor-sharp riffs and even sharper hooks, Austin,
Texas’
THE SWORD deliver a sophomore effort that’s a cut above the rest.” –
REVOLVER
“Purveyors of Shred.THE
SWORD doesn’t simply rock, they battle.” –
METRO NEW YORK
“huge” –
VILLAGE VOICE
“Gods of the Earth takes the River City crew from mono to stereo,
varying tempo, song length, and tonal palette while remaining dazzlingly
compact in all but the band’s epic vision.” –
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
“axe-wielding metal warriors” –
KERRANG!
“While histrionic white-belted halfwits parade about in their
delusions of metal grandeur, there has quietly arisen an actual heir to the
glory of metal past: The Sword.” –
PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY
“incredible” –
METAL EDGE
“The maddening infectiousness of
THE SWORD’s pummeling metal is
undeniable, as it’s equal parts groove-oriented heaviness and gloomy
riffage…a powerful metal statement.” –
HARP
THE SWORD tour dates:
U.S. “Gods of the Earth” west coast tour (with support from Slough Feg and
Children)
April 14 Lubbock, Texas Jake’s Sports Center
April 16 Phoenix, Arizona The Brickhouse
April 17 San Diego, California The Casbah
April 18 Los Angeles, California El Rey Theatre
April 19 San Francisco, California Slim’s
April 21 Portland, Oregon Berbati’s Pan
April 22 Seattle, Washington Neumo’s
April 24 Boise, Idaho Neurolux
April 25 Salt Lake City, Utah Club Vegas
April 26 Denver, Colorado Bluebird Theatre
April 28 Wichita, Kansas BarleyCorns
April 29 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Conservatory
U.S. “Gods of the Earth” east coast tour (with support from Torche and
Stinking Lizaveta)
May 9 Ft Worth TX Lola’s
May 10 Memphis TN Hi Tone
May 11 Nashville TN Exit / In
May 12 Covington KY The Mad Hatter
May 13 Detroit MI The Magic Stick
May 14 Columbus OH Ravari Room
May 15 Washington DC Rock and Roll Hotel
May 16 Philadelphia PA First Unitarian Church
May 17 Brooklyn NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
May 18 Cambridge MA Middle East Downstairs
May 20 Raleigh NC Lincoln Theater
May 21 Savannah GA The Jinx
May 22 Tallahassee FL The Beta Bar
May 23 St. Petersburg FL State Theatre
May 24 Orlando FL The Social
May 25 Gainesville FL Common Grounds
May 26 Atlanta GA Lenny’s
May 27 Birmingham AL Bottle Tree
May 28 Baton Rouge LA Spanish Moon
May 29 Houston TX Rudyard’s
June 12-15 Manchester, TN 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival (see:
www.bonnaroo.com)
METALLICA / DOWN / THE SWORD European Tour
July 16 Bergen, Norway Koengen
July 18 St. Petersburg Russia – SKK Hall
July 20 Riga, Latvia Skonto Stadium
July 22 Bologna, Italy Parco Nord
July 23 Bucharest, Romania Cotroceni (no DOWN)
July 25 Sofia, Bulgaria Vasil Levski Stadium