Austin heavy stoner/doom rockers the Sword (you remember them, right?) are back -- finally -- and ready to drop Warp Riders on Aug. 24 via Kemado.
This time around, the four-piece tapped producer/engineer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis) to help them realize a sci-fi narrtative-driven concept album. Said vocalist/guitarist/songwriter J.D. Cronise to Decibel, "It's a science fiction story, and it deals heavily with themes of light and dark and perceptions of time. One of the main settings is a planet, which has experienced tidal locking, creating a side of perpetual day and a side of perpetual night." He explained further to Noisecreep. "I didn't really want to revisit the same stuff again on another record and talk about the same things and doom and gloom and sorcerers and ravens and things," he said. The artwork alone should be enough to tip off even the densest of listeners.
The Sword previewed some new material at last year's fantastic Fun Fun Fun Fest. Notably -- and this is excluding the fact that Warp Riders features songs written in keys other than D -- the band is exploring a really kickass new ZZ-Top-meets-Hawkwind sound, so you know it's gonna rawk.
Make the jump for track listing and live dates.
Warp Riders:
1. Acheron/Unearthing the Orb
2. Tres Brujas
3. Arrows in the Dark
4. The Chronomancer I: Hubris
5. Lawless Lands
6. Astraea's Dream
7. The Warp Riders
8. Night City
9. The Chronomancer II: Nemesis
10. (The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire"
The Sword live:
July 3 - iTunes Music Festival - London
July 5 - Barfly - London
Oct. 8-10 - ACL Festival - Austin
June 30, 2010
THE SWORD READY NEW ALBUM, RELEASE ARTWORK, TRACK LISTING
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2 hollers:
I like the retro album artwork
The cover design + artwork looks like it came out of an Atari 2600 cartridge mixed with Flash Gordon.
Atari still rules. I miss playing that wooden console and it's primitive joystick. So does Flash Gordon. I hope they don't tarnish that film's legacy with a half-assed CGI remake.
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