With puns fully intended, The Sword have been chopping their way through the realm of heavy metal and stoner rock for just over a decade.
It’s served the band considerably well until this point, but there’s clearly been some concern amid the quartet regarding the tip of their collective blade not being quite as sharp as it once was.
In turn, the Texans’ fifth disc is one that shakes things up in a considerable way. While the title track and ‘Mist & Shadow’ are both muscular standard-bearers for their established herb-tinged, head-banging style, there are also curious detours into electronica (the surprisingly effective ‘Seriously Mysterious’) and groovier rock shuffles in the style of Grand Funk Railroad and Thin Lizzy (‘Empty Temples’). The see-what-sticks approach doesn’t always play into the band’s favour, and the album runs overtime as a result. Even so, the fact they’re willing to throw caution to the wind and broaden their horizons puts them streets ahead of their more close-minded contemporaries.
Adventurous by nature and intelligent by design, High Country has enough substance to please those on board from day dot, as well as those investigating for the first time.
The Sword’s albumHigh Countryis out through Razor & Tie/Cooking Vinyl.
