Not long after the release of The Sword’s full length debut I purchased my copy of Age Of Winters. Much hyped by the a ton of press, this Stoner/Doom Metal quartet from Austin, Texas quickly became the poster child for the retro-metal movement. After a few spins, I just did not get it. It was not that the record was horrible; it was just that there were many other bands in the genre putting out better albums. Nothing held my attention so it got filed away.

I reluctantly picked up their second and latest release, Gods Of The Earth, figuring this would be a make or break album for me with The Sword. When the opening track and instrumental, The Sundering, began blasting from my player, I instantly noticed things were going to be different this time around. While staying true to their early Doom roots, The Sword has incorporated some early thrash and NWOBHM into the mix.

Musically, Gods Of The Earth vastly improves that of their debut album, the playing is tight with clean production giving The Sword a massive sound. The riffs are dragged through the mire and the solos are captivating, capturing the drug-fueled liveliness of the seventies era metal they emulate with great precision. The flowing bass runs of Bryan Richie and Trivett Wingo’s loose yet spot-on drum assault round out the instrumental attack.

After the opening death stomp of The Sundering things, The Sword and their The Frost-Giants Daughter trudges through familiar Sabbath inspired landscapes. They do not stray far from this path but do plunder others along the way, see How Heavy This Axe with its Thin Lizzy inspired guitar harmonies. They haul in a bulk of their thrash influences on Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians, which produces 2-20 hit points of damage.

The main problem I have with The Sword are the vocals. Cronise’s singing lacks the power that I expect from a Heavy Metal vocalist. Besides being buried in the mix (probably a good thing) he comes across flat and emotionless and do not compliment the heaviness of music being performed.

Overall, I feel this is a well written and rounded album, still do not expect anything groundbreaking or original. I feel that The Sword made a good some good altercations to their style, compared to their debut. Alas, I also do not feel that this release does have the staying power that some other albums in this genre, time will tell. If The Sword can make a few adjustments, especially in the vocals, they could be more than just a media darling and become a true leader in the retro-metal movement.

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