The Sword is an American heavy metal band formed in Austin, Texas in 2003. The band released its debut album Age of Winters in 2006; the songs on the album were largely written by frontman J. D. Cronise before the band's formation, although the musical compositions were credited to the band as a whole. In 2007 the band contributed the track "Sea of Spears" to a split extended play (EP) with Swedish band Witchcraft, which was credited to Cronise and guitarist Kyle Shutt, as well as a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". In 2008 the band released its second album Gods of the Earth, which was again credited to Cronise (lyrics) and the band as a whole (music), as well as the single "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians" which featured the previously unreleased track "Codex Corvidae" as the B-side.

After contributing a cover version of Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat" to a split single with Year Long Disaster in March, The Sword released its third studio album Warp Riders in August 2010, the music for which was credited to Cronise and Shutt. Second single "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire" featured another previously unreleased track as a B-side, "Farstar". The band signed with Razor & Tie in 2012, and released the non-album single "Hammer of Heaven" in May that year, a song written by Cronise during the sessions for Age of Winters. The band's fourth album Apocryphon, the first to feature drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III, followed in October and returned to crediting the music to the whole band.

In 2024 the band contributed a cover of the track "Locomotive Breath" originally written by Jethro Tull to the album Aqualung Redux released through Magnetic Eye Records. It also featured guest musicians including intro piano played by Steve Moore from the band Zombi and flute played by Jason Frey. In review of the song Blabbermouth.net favorably said, "Like everything else on Aqualung Redux, it works brilliantly and shines fresh light" on the original song and album. Choosing to do an accurate reproduction of the original version Cronise, in an interview with Revolver said, "Those old records [are] so layered [with] all these parts. To dissect that and then reconstruct it was the challenge, rather than to reinterpret it." "Locomotive Breath" was a track that was constructed by being "patched together in the studio" by Jethro Tull. Anderson initially played a bass drum and hi-hat cymbal drum track, drummer Clive Bunker then layered tom-toms and cymbals to fill out the drum tracks. Keyboard player John Evan brought the piano section, that was used as the intro prologue, consisting of classical and jazz progressions to the pre-arranged song in which guitarist Martin Barre added blues guitar lines to.

Songs

+Key Indicates song released as a single Indicates song written by the whole band

SongCredited writer(s)ReleaseYearRef.Notes"Acheron/Unearthing the Orb"John D. Cronise2010"Agartha"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Apocryphon"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Arcane Montane" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Arrows in the Dark"John D. Cronise2010"Astraea's Dream"Kyle ShuttTrivett Wingo2010"Barael's Blade"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Buzzards"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Celestial Crown"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006"Cheap Sunglasses"Billy GibbonsDusty HillFrank Beard2012""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2010""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2010"Cloak of Feathers" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Codex Corvidae"John D. Cronise2008"Cold Sweat" Phil LynottJohn Sykes2010"Daughter of Dawn"John D. CroniseKyle Shutt2010""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Dying Earth"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Early Snow"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Ebethron"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006"Empty Temples"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Execrator"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Eyes of the Stormwitch"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Farstar"2010"Fire Lances of the AncientHyperzephyrians" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Freya" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Ghost Eye"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Hammer of Heaven" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Hawks & Serpents"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"He's Waiting"Gerry Roslie2008"Hexenringe"2015"" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"High Country" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006"How Heavy This Axe"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Immigrant Song"Jimmy PageRobert Plant2007"Iron Swan"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006"Lament for the Aurochs"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006"Lawless Lands"John D. CroniseKyle Shutt2010"Locomotive Breath"Ian Anderson2024"Lords"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Maiden, Mother & Crone"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"March of the Lor"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Mist & Shadow"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings"Billy GibbonsDusty HillFrank Beard2008"Night City"John D. Cronise2010"" John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2010"Sea of Spears"John D. CroniseKyle Shutt2007"Seriously Mysterious"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Seven Sisters"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012"Silver Petals"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Suffer No Fools"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Tears Like Diamonds"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"To Take the Black"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Tres Brujas" John D. CroniseBryan RichieTrivett Wingo2010"Turned to Dust"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015"Under the Boughs"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Unicorn Farm"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2015""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieSantiago Vela 2012""John D. Cronise2010""John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2008"Winter's Wolves"John D. CroniseKyle ShuttBryan RichieTrivett Wingo 2006

Footnotes

References

External links List of The Sword songs at AllMusic