Exploding on to the scene in 2006, and shortly thereafter being handpicked to open for Metallica on their Death Magnetic tour, The Sword has proven themselves through album and live show with force. With new drummer on the skins, The Sword slayed New York City Saturday night with their brand of doom/ stoner metal.
Having canceled their tour about a month ago with the sudden departure of their previous drummer, they came back with a vengeance on their rescheduled dates. Sounding tight all night long and gaining a huge crowd reaction, this performance was mind blowing. In all truth, I hadn’t even heard of them prior to their being on the Metallica tour and was thoroughly impressed when I saw them. I had it in the back of my mind to catch them headline and almost missed the opportunity as their original NY date was the same as Suffocation’s performance at the Gramercy Theatre (reviewed here as well). Unfortunate as it is when a band member quits, I was glad it forced them to reschedule so I was able to catch them.
So getting down to the business at hand, yes, The Sword only has 3 albums, their newest released earlier this year, but they still played a solid 80-90 minute set complete with encore. Mixing in fan favorites like “Black River” and new hits like “Tres Brujas” they didn’t let up for a moment all night. Kicking off with the instrumental “Acheron/ Unleashing the Orb” from new album “Warp Riders,” they kept a solid pace through and through garnering a highly active mosh pit and crowd surfing by one overzealous fan in a jester hat. He got unceremoniously dropped over the gate at the front of the pit numerous times. The frenzy was so strong, that with every pick, stick or setlist thrown to the crowd, there was a frenzy of activity to obtain the prize from the stage. I was fortunate enough to catch a pick from J.D. and the dude next to me got a hold of the setlist from Bryan which is included in the album below. In the end, this was an awesome night and a killer performance from The Sword and they’re wholly worth checking out if you get a chance.
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057310&id=1574410252&l=2dc2ea692c