The Sword at the Double Door March 5th, 2014

I'm gonna start by saying that I, personally, have never seen the Double Door as packed as it was Wednesday night. The whole thing was almost ridiculous, and then went right over the edge when the mosh pit started.

This was the second time that I'd seen the Austin foursome in the venerable Wicker Park venue, and in neither case was it as fun as their 2010 show at the Metro. Simply for the sheer fact that I could not move, and I was surrounded by a fair number of douchey assholes, in with the decent folks. Perhaps this is a result of the band's growing popularity, or more likely the difference between a venue with a capacity of 500 versus 1150.

I cannot fathom why metal bands, after they reach a certain level of popularity, immediately become a magnet for ballcapped frat assholes. I suppose it can be traced to male power fantasies, but, whatever. The whole thing gets worse when compounded with entitlement syndrome....

You know what I'm talking about, the moment when some fireplug-shaped jagbag with a shaved head and a goatee decides he has to get to the front RIGHT NOW, and plows through everyone on the floor. Doing so in the absolutely most discourteous and, flatly, dangerous way possible.

See, back in my days of mosh pit madness, there was a code. There was an understood level of respect and concern for the people around you. If someone went down, you stopped and blocked until they could get on their feet, you could get them on their feet, or security could get them out. It was a brotherhood of violent physical release, not a competition. Not a contest to see who could force themselves furthest up front. Some idiot on Wednesday even tried to crowd surf.

Idiot.

Let's come to an understanding here....when the club is packed like sardines, you don't deserve to get to the front. Especially when you arrive late.

In short. Fuck you.

O'Brother

Anyway, aside from all that. Fantastic show.

The openers were impressive, moreso than usual. I was particularly taken with O'Brother out of Atlanta. They were heavy enough to be appropriate, melodic enough to be interesting, and their vocalist, Tanner Merritt, has a hell of a set of pipes. This despite a lot of modulation on the vocals (which was a theme for the night). The songs were catchy, which is always of primary importance with me. Definitely a band, I'll be picking up at least one disk from.

Big Business

Also on the bill was Big Business, which includes a couple of guys who play with The Melvins. I was totally unaware of this, as usual. Good band, a hard-hitting band, and Coady Willis is simply a monster drummer. Powerful and all over the kit. Thrilling to watch, although he kind of looks like an accountant (a super-cool accountant, but nevertheless...). Also with Jared Warren on bass and truly distinctive vocals. I really enjoyed the set, but, I have to admit, just base don comparing the two openers, I didn't find Big Business' songs as compelling as the performance. I might download some tracks, or an album, but I have a feeling that without the live energy, I might not be too jazzed.

The Sword was, as usual, great.  I simply love this band, so my "review" may leave a lot to be desired. I love the songs, I love the style, and I, personally, love J.D. Cronise's voice. Although, again, clearly a lot of processing on his vocal tracks.

The Sword

The sound was vastly better than the last time I saw the band at the Double Door, the vocals were pretty much inaudible at the show, and it annoyed me. Wednesday night there was no such problem. The band is rather static on stage, but that's generally fine with me. Aside from my beloved Springsteen, I'd rather bands stand still and play well (not that Springsteen doesn't play well - quite the opposite). I've had enough of the half-assed musicianship in the service of "putting on a show."

I do admit to a true joy in watching bassist Bryan Richie play. It's so unlike most metal musicians, who tend to the violent thrash. Headbanging and the like. It reflects his playing, a flow, rather than an attack. It's probably part of why I love this band so much, a true sense of groove.

The Sword stands, and delivers. In fact, the only complaint I could level would be that Night City didn't make the setlist.

The Sword - Apocryphon

The Sword is a fast climber, for me. Their last album, 2010's Warp Riders, was my favorite album of  that year. I love that album, I think it is damn near perfect. It took the doomy-Black Sabbath style metal of their first two albums, and injected some Thin Lizzy style classic rock. I absolutely love that album.

The Texas four piece is back two years later with Apocryphon. I was a little sad that the band had moved back more toward the Sabbath-type sound. That said, the songwriting on this record is tremendous. The band has grown into a riff machine. There is cool stuff all over this album, and while there may be no moment of pure, glorious rock craftsmanship like "Night City" on Warp Riders, the experience is sonically exhilarating.

This is, simply put, a solid selection of songs. There is no filler here, and it's nice to see J.D. Cronise continuing to develop as a vocalist. The lyrics are still the sci-fi/fantasy hokum that we love this band for, but Cronise has really grown from the early records, where his vocal delivery was adequate, but clearly the weakest think in their arsenal. He, quite honestly, may be turning into one of my absolutely favorite current vocalists.

The musicianship is tight and powerful, Cronise and Kyle Shutt have really perfected their dual-guitar style, and I'm absolutely in love with how Bryan Richie plays bass. Jimmy Vela is the newest member, on drums, and, while I miss the way original drummer Trivett Wingo pounded the skins, Vela absolutely fits the formula the band has perfected.

What's nice about the songwriting here, as opposed to the earlier albums, Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth, and I have to guess this is because of the successful jaunt into more of a classic hard rock sound on Warp Riders, is that the band seems very comfortable to lay back from the songs. The first two albums were rather consistently heavy, there might be slower, lyrical passages as an intro, but then when the band got going, they were GOING. There seems lees need for that here, they've proved they can be heavy, and they've proved they can be melodic, now they're clearly finding (and quite successfully) ways to let those things coexist.

The title track, in particular, is just a masterpiece. Starting with what almost sounds like Atari video game sound effects, and then ripping out with some of my favorite lyrics in a long time.

Darkness and light entwine
Everything is all the time
All around you points align
Everything is all the time

It's really nice to see a hard rock/metal band that actually seems to be trying to evolve, to add elements to their music, without losing the qualities that made them cool in the first place. Too often, it seems like bands go completely off the rails, or they seem perpetually stuck making the same record over and over again. IF their first four albums are a good indicator, The Sword will not have this problem.

Favorite Tracks:
Cloak of Feathers
Dying Earth
Execrator
Hawks & Serpents
Apocryphon

As an additional note: There is a deluxe version of the album available that includes four live versions of songs off previous albums, as well as a really fun cover of ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses." Totally worth it, in my opinion.

More on The Sword later, as I'll be seeing them at The Double Door tomorrow night.

My Guitar

I played for a little bit Wednesday night. 

God, it felt good. I felt like I could play, that I could make the thing sound any way I wanted. That I could make it scream and sigh as I wished.

That doesn't always happen. There's plenty of times you just sit there with this dead thing in your hands, trying will your fingers, and it, to do something, anything remotely like what you hear in your head. Sometimes, it's all you can do to not smash the damn thing against the wall. 

I love acting. I do. I love the fulfillment of throwing myself, whole hearted, into a story, a person who I give my body to. Taking the experiences and tossing them back to the audience, and getting back from them again. Not that that always happens, but...when it does....

But I want to play more. I want to play regularly. I want to create music. I want to make these songs I have in my pocket fuller, stronger. I want to jam with Pauly C. 

I need it. 

Listening to The Sword's Apocryphon almost non-stop since Tuesday, and it's awesome. I hope to have a review up next week.


 

"All Back to My Place" - Damen Ave. Edition (via Burning Wood)

 I'm quite a fan of Sal Nunziato and his blog, Burning Wood. It's a great stop for anyone who's into music. Sal's signifigantly older than myself, but I still find myself really enjoying his tastes and interests.

Anyway, today's post was a "Burning Wood Edition" of MOJO magazine's "All Back to My Place" feature. I couldn't help but post my responses, and I thought it might be interesting enought to share as a blog post of my own.

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU CURRENTLY GROOVING TO?

I'm also on a Who kick right now, hard. I'm a guitarist, and I suddenly came to a realization in the last month or so about how fucking cool Townshend's guitar approach is. Also how a lot of his style compliments what I do, naturally. Really into any live tracks I can find, especially.

WHAT, IF PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, IS YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE ALBUM?

*sigh* Hard one. I'll just fall back and punt with The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle. It feels, to me like Bruce on the cusp of figuring out exactly who he wants to be, as an artist, while still embracing that spastic seaside kid he was on the first album. Plus, fucking "Incident"...gets me every time.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST RECORD YOU BOUGHT AND WHERE DID YOU BUY IT?

My recollection is a copy of Lou Reed's New York on cassette during an unending family road trip. Mainly because I thought the cover was cool. That said, I have a shameful feeling it was Buckner & Garcia's Pac-Man Fever.






WHAT MUSICIAN HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE?

Springsteen is the big one. I want to sing like that, play like that, and have a band that amazing. It's changed over the years, however, as I, and my tastes, have. John Lennon, Keith Richards, James Hetfield.

WHAT DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?

That is kind of a ridiculous question. Does ANYBODY sing the same song in the shower all the time. Usually, it's whatever is stuck in my head at the moment, even one of my own tracks I'm working on. That said, "Baba O'Riley" comes up a lot.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SATURDAY NIGHT RECORD?

Zeppelin II. In my book, their best. That said, this is another place where I would answer differently in many situations. For example, I almost put in The Sword's Warp Riders, which I just fell in love with. It certainly feeds the metalhead that is still a big part of me, while also capturing a classic rock vibe (It reminds me of Thin Lizzy a lot, at moments) that I'm just loving now.

AND YOUR FAVORITE SUNDAY MORNING RECORD?

Zakk Wylde's Book of Shadows, which I think is one of the most under-appreciated albums ever. Great songs, great vocals, great playing, free of his usual bombast. You may write this off as "Ozzy's Guitarist," but give a couple of tracks a listen. It's great stuff. Runner up: Rodrigo Y Gabriela's self-titled debut. The Latin vibe mixed with rock and metal influences just works for me when I'm in a "relax" mood.

Hot Damn, Do I Love This Song

AND this band. One of the best new acts out there.

The Trilogy is Complete!

The Sword completes their Warp Riders video trilogy with my favorite song on the album.

Part 1 - "Tres Brujas"



Part 2 - "Lawless Lands"



Part 3 - "Night City"



My #1 album from last year, folks.

Great stuff

The Sword at Metro 12.12.2010

Sometimes, what you need is just a total throw-down hard rock show. Sunday night was horrid, weather-wise, in Chicago. Bone-chilling cold, high winds, blowing snow, the full package of winter crap weather. Getting to the show was a pain in the ass. Walking from the Addison Red Line stop to the club was downright painful. Thankfully, I get aside some bucks to cab it home.

The openers were a Band from Columbus, OH called Mount Carmel. Pretty good, kind of an Allman Brothers vibe, with a bit more edge. Also a three-piece.My buddy Shea, who went with me, liked them enough to pick up a CD. I thought they were pretty good, not really pretentious, but lacking in a bit of stage presence.

Then followed Karma to Burn, which was an odd act. They played for a good hour, really intense, really heavy. Great live act. Trouble is, only two songs had vocals. Now, I'm all kinds of good with instrumental hard rock, love me some Joe Satriani, but the thing is...Satriani serves up catchy melodies on the guitar. Karma to Burn just lay out the stomp. It was like watching Metallica with no vocals, the melody wasn't exactly apparent. This sorta made everything kinda sound the same.

In a live environment, with this style, I'm actually OK with that. It's high-energy, the crowd was into it, and they really worked for it. I just couldn't imagine buying a CD with 10-12 songs that all sound the same, and don't even have lyrical content (on the main) to differentiate them. So, loved 'em live...can't imagine becoming a "fan."

Ah, but then...the main event.

I freakin' love The Sword.

It's a love that's really sprung from their latest record, Warp Riders. (Yes, I have written about this album a lot.) The first two albums, Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth were really good throwback heavy metal albums, I really enjoyed them. Each has what I would call classic tracks. However, the formula didn't gell on every track, but the latest release is where I think everything comes together for this band.

I read a brief interview with guitarist/vocalist/songwriter J.D. Cronise where, when asked if touring with bands like Metallica impacted the new record, his response was that it made him want to take the focus away from "being heavy" and more toward storytelling. This is so very, very obvious in the results. Yes, Warp Riders is heavy, but it's also lyrical, and it grooves. It's the exact sort of progression curve a band should have in the genre. As they move forward we're seeing more and more of what the band can do.

this is all to say, if they'd just got up there and played the new record front to back, I would've been over the moon. It is a concept record, after all, so it's a possibility. That did not happen, and we got a fine selection of tracks from the earlier albums.

When people ask me about The Sword, at some point, or another, I usually say "a throwback band." There are other acts that have gotten that label, Wolfmother comes immediately to mind. To me, the thing that sets The Sword apart from these other groups is a certain sense of authenticity. I mean, Wolfmother...I dug some tracks, the first album was pretty good, but it always struck me as a hipster's idea of what a 70's metal act was. Andrew Stockdale is talented, but there's just a little too much "cool" in the mix. The outfits are too thought out, too designer, and the hooks feel more than a little over-engineered to sound like off-the-cuff, "let's thrash" riffage.

I look at The Sword, and they look EXACTLY like the hessian kids who used to gather at "cancer corner" 'round the back of my high school, and talk about how "fucking rad" the new Iron Maiden cassette was. If it was just the look, I might still be skeptical, but then there's the vibe that comes off the stage. They seem unaffected by the adoration that's heaped on them. Cronise, for example, almost seems embarrassed by the whole thing. As I left the venue, the bassist, Bryan Ritchie, was just standing there, hobnobbing with some guy about two feet from the fans shuffling out, and Cronice stepped out into view at the end of the hall. I threw the horns, and he kinda waved back...I immediately felt like an idiot.

See, CByrd? There are places where the horns work, and some they don't ;). In the hall after a show just makes you look like a meathead.

Thing is, that reaction, the sorta embarrassed, "oh, hey guys"? Makes me love that dude more than anything. Could it be an act? Sure, every band, every musician, has an act, I think. An image they cultivate, and use to keep the world away from their "real" selves. Still, it just feels like a bunch of guys that cut some tracks, and the heavy metal world came to them.

Anyway, yes...A throwback band. When you watch The Sword play, you get the sense that this is a group that could've come up in the 80's, or even the 70's, without much change. The first two albums felt very much like Black Sabbath, and Warp Riders peppers in a heaping helping of Thin Lizzy. It's a sense of hard-workin', blue collar hard rock. I dig that, and always have.

I guess as a last point, as a immediate, physical example of how much I enjoyed this show...My neck is stiff as a board, today. Total whiplash.

Heh heh...The metalheads know what I'm talking about.

Highlights:
Night City, Freya, Lawless Lands, (The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire, How Heavy This Axe, Winter Wolves

Setlist: 

Acheron/Unearthing the Orb  

Tres Brujas  

Barael's Blade 

Arrows In The Dark 

How Heavy This Axe 

Lawless Lands 

Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians 

The Chronomancer II: Nemesis 

The Horned Goddess 

Iron Swan 

Lords 

Night City 

Freya 

The Black River 

(The Night The Sky Cried) Tears Of Fire  

Encore: 

Winter's Wolves

Ahh....It is Friday

And thank God for that. It has been a long week for me, and, as a reward, I've got a 3-day weekend coming up. Yeah, I took Monday off, because I'm going to see The Sword play Sunday night, and it's sure to be a late one, as the show doesn't even start until 9:00, and there are (I think) two openers.

I saw them open for Metallica a couple of years ago, also in the midst of a deep freeze. Yeah, supposedly temperatures around here are going to plunge on Sunday night. Joy on that. I got fairly sick after that Metallica show, and my intention is not to repeat that.

Should be OK. Far easier (and cheaper) to get a cab from The Metro to our place, than from all the way out in Rosemont. That's the plan, in my mind, at this moment.

The Sword is one of those bands that rose to mainstream prominence on the back of Guitar Hero. I believe it was the first, or maybe second game that included the track Freya, off their first album, Age of Winters. I really liked that track. When I'm asked to describe their sound, I've found myself using "they sound like Black Sabbath crossed with Thin Lizzy." I think that's pretty accurate for the latest album, Warp Riders, which I've talked about on this blog before.

I think it's fun that the new record is an honest-to-God concept record, and the three videos they are releasing will form a trilogy. The first two have been released.

Tres Brujas



Lawless Lands




Yeah, yeah it's all sci-fi and stuff, so of course, I think it's awesome.

Can't wait to see the show.

Still thinking and considering on the recording upgrade. I spent some time looking at the Tascam 2488 NEO's owner's manual. So cool you can find this stuff on line these days. I see the package is back in stock, now...

Arrgh. I just don't know what to do. I really don't.

Stuck In My Head 12.8.2010

All I can say is; they better play this Sunday night.




Night City 

There is a place where the losers win
A port of call for desperate men
It is known by many names
We come and go but it remains
Nobody cares, nobody cries
if you're scared or if you die
That's the way it goes
You should know...

You're in the place they call the Night-side
In the shadows where the killers and the pirates hide
Stick around if you think you can survive
in the city on the Night-side

Running scared through endless night
Too afraid to put up a fight
They shackle her wrists
It's too late to resist
Scanned for weapons and transmitters
Sold at auction to the highest bidder
That's the way it goes
Now you know...

You can find us on the Night-side
In the shadows where the killers and the pirates hide
Come around if you think you can survive
in the city on the Night-side

You can find us on the Night-side
In the shadows where the killers and the pirates hide
Come around if you think you can survive
in the place they call the Night-side 

-  J. D. Cronise

Short Week, and the Mind Wanders....

I'm actually dreading tomorrow, for no other reason but that I'm going to pick up my comics. This is a pretty big week. Last week, which I didn't get to pick up, was a big week. It means a rather large bill when I stroll in there tomorrow.

Oh well...It's a hobby that, on occasion, is expensive. I am beyond overjoyed that both Marvel and DC have announced that they're going to roll back the $3.99 price point they started about a year, or so, ago. Yeah, it means the end of some great back-up features, but it also means titles like Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and Justice League of America, which jumped to the higher price with no additional content, will be back in a reasonable price range.

Tonight, CByrd and I will be heading to The Vic to see The Frames. I'm excited, frontman Glen Hansard, who's possibly more familiar from his side project The Swell Season, which sprung from the film Once, is a pretty dynamic stage presence. So much so that he pretty much runs over Swell Season partner Markéta Irglová, and the Swell Season backing band is...The Frames. So, if you see The Swell Season, you're essentially seeing The Frames, with Irglová adding a couple of numbers. 

I've commented on this unequal partnership before. It's not that I think Glen's doing anything on purpose, just that the lady seems ill-suited to commanding a large audience. Now that it seems, by some reports, that The Swell Season has run it's course, it'll be interesting to see what Markéta can/will do on her own.

Which really doesn't impact on The Frames, at all, other than that the two times I've seen The Swell Season, I felt that I might as well be watching a Frames show. It ought to be a good time. 

I'm also really looking forward to The Sword at Metro on December 12th. Their latest album, Warp Riders, has been seated pretty firmly as my favorite album this year. I've written about the album in the past, but the short form is that it's old-school hard rock/heavy metal, with Warp Riders being a step into a more concise and hooky form of songcraft. There's an almost Thin Lizzy kinda feel to the record, with groove and less sprawling guitar work.

The show was originally set for October 23rd, but the entire tour got canceled/postponed when drummer Trivett Wingo left the band, apparently because of panic attacks leading to a desire to get off the road. He's very upfront and frank about the decision in this interview. I have to say, I respect the guy pulling the eject button when he knew he wasn't going to be able to pull his share. The timing sucked, and he seems fully aware of that, too. I can't say I'm happy that I had to wait another month, or so, to see the band, but the whole thing's been handled as well as anybody could expect. Wingo going on record about his problems is brave, and appreciated by this fan.

That said, I am disappointed. I saw The Sword open for Metallica a couple of years back, and the band had a really nice, laid back, "hey, we're just dudes who put a band together" vibe. I also found Trivett magnetic on stage. His look is certainly not that of a typical metal drummer, but the dude can pound.

There wasn't a ton of super complex or what you might call "elegant" drumming going on, but he just wailed. I also found Warp Riders, and the, as I said, more groove-oriented sound really served up his work well. I'm still very excited for the show, but I'll miss seeing his work. 

This story might also give a glimpse of why a guy might want to get off the road. Jesus, Phil. I thought you were over that shit. I also must point out that the author of that blog seems like a bit of a douche, himself. 

In other "concert news," on an absolute whim, I bought tickets to see Slash at the Chicago House of Blues on February 13th. I've gotten some crap from people on this, which kind of amuses me. The real kicker, for me, was that Myles Kennedy would still be singing on that date. Kennedy is the vocalist for Alter Bridge, and I've written about my enjoyment of that band before, too. I saw too late that Alter Bridge is playing HOB on December 11th, and it looks to be sold out.

I just really dig Kennedy's voice, and the setlists for the Slash shows have included songs from every facet of his career, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, and solo stuff, as well as playing some stuff from Kennedy's catalog. That seems like an entertaining evening, to me. Plus, it's Slash, and one can't deny that he's been a vastly influential guitarist in the years since Appetite for Destruction broke.

I'm still working on the acoustic set for the Stage Left Fundraiser, as well as continuing to work on tracks for a new CD. It's funny, I'm sure everybody who plays an instrument has these thoughts, wherein, depending on the day, you either can't play at all, or it just flows, almost too easy. Sunday was the latter, for me. I had a drum track that just did not work, and it didn't take me long to see that I'd simply programmed it incorrectly. I fixed it, and things really started to run smoothly. The guitar scratch track is down, I'll need to move on to bass, and build it up again.

The I just started messing around, riffing. I was really enjoying everything I was coming up with. As I've said, time and again (boy I bet this blog bores people sometimes), the "concept" is sort of a 70's hard rock thing. So much of that was blues-based, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, etc. so I just started messing around with a 12-bar blues. I really enjoyed the riffs that were coming out, and the room for variation that I was giving myself. It was fun, and I think that you'll see/hear some version of it on the finished product...whenever that might emerge.

Oh, and I got an idea for an incredibly weird spoken-word piece on the train this morning. We'll see about that.

What I really need to do is keep on that acoustic...the days are ticking away.

...And So We Come to Thursday

I started a blog post earlier, and then deleted it, realizing the inherent whiny nature of what I had written.

It was a self-pity post. Mooning over yet another opportunity lost, a show I dearly, dearly wanted, and did not get. A loss that, try as I might, I still cannot take personal responsibility for. A role I think I could've played extremely well.

I feel cheated.

I feel angry, and I am not ready to let it go just yet.

Yet, I also don't feel the need to vent my spleen all over you, my loyal readers. So, we shall proceed to one of my patented "all over the place" blogs.

The work on the "Hayoth album project" continues. I've kinda swung back into it. The idea of making music has come around, and got exciting again.


I reserve the right to eventually reject this as the actual album cover, or not.

Picking up a new footswitch controller for my amp has helped me discover some new tones, as well as giving me a lot more control over the effects built into the amp. With my previous footswitch, I could only set up 4 amp presets, and I was stuck with the settings. I couldn't switch off the reverb, or turn the phaser on and off, without twiddling knobs on the front of the amp itself. Allowing me, with a tap of the toe, to alter the tone pretty drastically. So, I'm pretty excited about that.

Does give me a bit more to pay off on the Guitar Center card, but...12 months same-as-cash makes it all good. I'm thinking after this is paid off, I'm going to take the jump to Pro Tools, and start recording directly onto my computer. I hear the learning curve is a bit steep, but I've increasingly found working with only 8 tracks a bit limiting.

I think the other thing that's got me jumping more with music is finding a new album that's reall inspiring. Warp Riders is really kicking my ass.


Just buy the damn thing, will ya?

Yeah, I know I just wrote about it, but...it's great. I've grown more and more attached to it as I listen. I've actually had to force myself NOT to listen to it, so I wouldn't burn out on it. I haven't had to do that since Them Crooked Vultures (and I'm sure you're all still annoyed with me about gabbing on about that record.) There's something about the way this record sounds that really makes me want to play, and create my own stuff.

I still wish I had a band, but...sometimes you just learn to live with things.

So, yeah...I expect more progress. I still haven't recorded any vocals. I'm probably afraid of it. I really like how the music is coming out, and I think I have 5 solid tracks (my goal is almost always to end up with 12). My fear is that I'll start singing, and ruin them.

Again...wish I had a band. Or just a real singer, I guess.

Track titles are not set in stone, of course, but we have, 'Zep," "Gamble," "Reason," "We've Got Forever For This to Be Over," and "Poseidon." I am really, really aiming for a early 2011 "release." If I don't pick up a new show after The Sound of a Yellow Flower, I figure it can actually happen pretty easily. I mean, I'm almost halfway there.


It's yellow, it's a flower, it's making a sound....

Ah, Yellow Flower. I'm feeling pretty strong about what I'm doing in this show, and I think it's going to be very good. I've been very impressed with the Strangeloop folks, in general. I mean, yeah, it is another "thug"-kinda role, but there's a lot more going on. Something I am very, very thankful for.

We had a run last night that was...well, not spectacular. I was pretty disappointed in myself. We've only got two more rehearsals before we go into tech, so you want to be getting really solid and strong, but, y'know, it's not uncommon for there to be some fatigue at this stage. Still, it pissed me off. I'm supposed to be better than that.

The one thing I want to say. This is going to be a fine show. It may not connect with every audience, but our playwright, Dustin Spence, and director, Letitia Guillaud, have shaped something that I think will be surprising and interesting. For myself, there's a lot of areas to explore and things to play that are different.

What I'm saying is, it's worth your time. See it. If I've led you astray, you can berate me about it after.

The Sword - Warp Riders

You can be forgiven for now recognizing the name The Sword. They're an Austin, TX metal/stoner metal band that seemed to rise to prominence because the track "Freya" from their Age of Winters album was pretty popular on one of the Guitar Hero games. I'd heard about them a couple of times prior from some of my more metal-centric friends.

I had thought to give them a listen, but never really made the effort until I knew I was going to see them as an opening act on Metallica's Death Magnetic tour. I downloaded Age of Winters, and was fairly impressed with their performance on the tour. They certainly came off better than Machine Head.

Generally speaking, I liked the album. It was a very throwback-metal kind of thing. Lots of Nordic mythology imagery in the lyrics, and big, droning guitars that would turn on a dime to metal riffing. I was also taken with the guitarist/vocalist J. D. Cronise, who's vocal style really does call to mind classic Ozzy Osbourne, but in an unaffected, natural way. However, I have to admit, it's not an album I listen to all the way through. It's got ebbs and flows, and sometimes the result is electric, "Freya" is a really good example, and sometimes it just becomes kinda dull.

The second album, Gods of the Earth, fared even worse with me. It felt rushed and too much like a carbon-copy of the previous record. I really only have one standout track, "Maiden, Mother, and Crone."

I hadn't thought too much about the impending release of their third set, Warp Riders, until I caught the video for the first single, "Tres Brujas," and it blew my mind. Something about the style and lyrics, as well as the mythology they were building, which felt miles from their usual Nordic stuff. I resolved to download the album, figuring $7.99 was worth a risk.

Boy, am I glad I did.



Take a look at that cover. If you sort of chuckle and say, "oh, that's the kind of album it is," then I'd advise you to go out and buy it, because that's EXACTLY what kind of album it is. It's a throwback, an album that feels like something from the 70's when metal could be heavy as hell, and yet still embrace catchy hooks and melody.

Not only that, it's a concept record, and one that's not so obscure as to be difficult to follow. I mean, yeah, it's sci-fi hokum and fantasy nonsense, but I, personally, REALLY DIG that stuff. From the website:

Warp Riders tells the tale of Ereth, an archer banished from his tribe on the planet Acheron. A hardscrabble planet that has undergone a tidal lock, which has caused one side to be scorched by three suns, and the other enshrouded in perpetual darkness, it is the background for a tale of strife and fantasy, the battle between pure good and pure evil. How it’s told – through the dueling lead guitars of J.D. Cronise and Kyle Shutt, and the concussive rhythm section of bassist Bryan Ritchie and drummer Trivett Wingo – underscores the narrative with molten steel and unreal precision.

I've listened through the album about three times in 24 hours. It's not that long, again, like a 70's album, brevity aids the finished product. The musicianship and precise riffing is still on display, but there's also a constantly-changing feel to the songs. The riffs changes 2-3 time in a track, and it doesn't feel messy or over-packed, just dense. It draws a listener in.

I can't talk enough about the track "Night City." I'm just in love with it. It's supremely catchy, yet doesn't loose the hard edge. It makes me want to have a band just so we could cover it, if that makes any sense.

I also like the fact that the band looks like a gathering of normal dudes. Not overly tattooed, or swathed in black and leather. Just a bunch of guys laying down music they like.



I'm really getting the "Them Crooked Vultures" vibe on this album, if you recall my rabid love of that disk. Not in style or sound, but in my immediate reaction to it. I'm really, really taken with it, and it does somewhat share the retro-vibe I felt from the Vultures. This one, however, kinda blindsided me, I completely did not expect to like it this much.

I see The Sword will performing at Metro, here in Chicago, on Saturday, Oct. 23rd. I'm dropping by the box office tonight to grab some tickets.

Can I dare hope they'll just play Warp Riders in it's entirety?

Top Tracks:

• Tres Brujas
• The Chronomancer I: Hubris
• Warp Riders
• Night City