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Preview Mon Jul 18 2011
Warp Speed with the Sword
For years now, the Sword has thrived on a thrashy brand of metal with lyrics that wouldn't be out of place as soliloquies in Game of Thrones. (By the way, how boss was the first season of that show?) Gargantuan riffs and throttling rhythms are epitomized on their records and come through monstrous when they play live. Think of thrash-metal pioneers like Metallica and Slayer without heavy growling vocals. Then toss in some slick-but-not-too-slick production values that don't sacrifice aural carnage and you may have a pretty good idea of where the Sword falls on the metal chart.
On their third album, Warp Riders, singer and writer J.D. Cronise sets aside fantasy subject matter in favor of a science-fiction theme that is obvious from the cover art. Although the first song with lyrics references MacBeth, the concept album soon moves into territory that makes you wonder whether Cronise has been reading/watching a lot of Dune. (Perceptive listeners may catch a Warhammer 40k reference, too.) With lyrics like "immortality through artificial transformation to rule a world that soon will die" and "to cross a universe in hyper-spatial flight, we ride the warp of space into the womb of night", it's difficult to not be transported into a sci-fi mode when listening. But fear not, they're as heavy as ever on Warp Riders.
The Sword headlines Reggies Rock Club on Wednesday, the 20th. Columbus' Mount Carmel and Chicago's Killer Moon open. The show's 17+ and $15. Doors are at 8PM. Reggies is alocated at 2109 S State.