Austin, Texas quartet The Sword (not to be confused with their 1980s heavy metal counterpart The Sword from Quebec, Canada) have suffered the slings and arrows of numerous tags and labels in the 15 years since their inception in 2003. For better or worse certain heavy metal enthusiasts insist on pinning their sound down with a vast array of qualifiers ranging everywhere from classic metal to retro metal, heritage metal, stoner metal, doom metal and so on. No doubt The Sword owe a huge debt to early metal trailblazers Deep Purple and Ozzy era Black Sabbath, however, through the course of six albums in just over a decade their music has evolved far beyond the narrow confines of any fixed definition. Witness their latest album Used Future which has more than just a mere whiff of arty ‘70s prog rock highlighted by John D. Cronise’s Greg Lake styled vocals throughout (particularly King Crimson era Lake “21st Century Schizoid Man” as well as early Emerson, Lake & Palmer “Lucky Man”). Used Future is a well-executed perfectly melodic hard rock record crafted by none other than famed Grammy nominated record producer Tucker Martine. Listed by Paste Magazine in 2010 as one of the 10 Best Producers of the Decade, Martine (who has worked with everyone from Karl Blau to My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, Sufjan Stevens, Richard Buckner, R.E.M., Bill Frisell, Death Cab For Cutie, Abigail Washburn and Neko Case to name a few) recorded Used Future at his own studio Flora Recording & Playback in Portland, Oregon. Complete with prelude, intermezzo and reprise (not to mention a Nocturne surprisingly reminiscent of Gowan’s mid ‘80s mega hit “A Criminal Mind”) Used Future is as far reaching and sophisticated as one would think with its 13 tracks and 43 minutes of slickly produced guitar driven arty progcore. Furthermore, so as not to be outdone by their corporate contemporaries in KISS, The Sword would want you to know that if Used Future is not to your liking they will be more than happy to acquaint you to either one of their TWO brands of beer for sale (Winter Wolves Beer & Iron Swan Ale), their very own brand of hot sauce (Tears Of Fire) OR their specially branded BMX model bike The Stormwatch. And who can blame them? With no one very much interested in paying for music these days, musicians gotta pay the rent somehow. Long live Merch ‘n’ Roll!
Rating: 7.3/10
Star Rating: 3/5
2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 13/52