Gods Of The Earth

Again The Sword fail to disappoint

got this for my son he play it a lot so must be ok

very good

A+

One of my favourite albums of all times! Both "How heavy this axe" and "The black river" are simply fantastic songs.I believe this version had an additional song "The frost giant daughter" that wasn't available in the first release of the album, and also the editing is slightly different from the first releases.As a bonus some of the songs like "To take the black" and "Maiden, Mother & Crone" have some heavy references to "The song of Ice and Fire" saga by George Martin."The black river" and "The frost giant daughter" instead have some connections with the work of Robert E. Howard.

As if their name and albums weren't enough to tip you off, the Sword like to do two things: make references to myths and fantasy, and blast your ears off with eruptions of fiery metal.And in their second album "Gods of the Earth," this Austin band proceeds to do both -- but with greater intensity than in their debut. Not only do they have Black-Sabbath-style muscle and power that sweeps you off like a tidal wave, but also a wild flexibility that only promises to become more hypnotic in the future.The first song eases you into the music with a nimble, quiet guitar melody... right before that swell of thunderous bass explodes onto the scene, and it turns into a full-fledged metal anthem. But from the way they play it, you can tell that this is just the buildup.It's followed by the epic buildup and rapid ascent of "How Heavy This Axe," a blazing war anthem ("So many men have fallen/So many more must die/Cut down like wheat beneath the scythe!"), and "Lords'" tight knifelike riffs twined with heavy grimy clouds of bass. And, of course, lyrics that sound like they were written for some enormous high-fantasy novel ("The dukes of the marches have ordered their archers/To shoot all outlanders on sight").So you have a pretty good idea of what the remaining songs are going to be, and the Sword rushes on through them like a brush fire. A rollicking hard-rocker that simultaneously sounds like a stampede and a car revving, a meditative folk-metal anthem, blazing yowlfests, tribal metal, eruptions of accelerating bass and wild upward-spiraling riffs.By the time you get to "The White Sea," you'll probably feel kind of dizzy. Fortunately the album finally slows to a stately dark cloud of grimy bass, with one outburst of wailing riffs near the end.When you get down to it, all the songs on here sound like the soundtrack to some heavy-metal fantasy movie, with a heavy dose of Norse mythology -- lots of bloody battles, mythical goddesses, destroyed ruins, wizards, damsels, legends, creepy forests, and fantastical/mythic stuff like that. And they'll happily blow your ears off too."Gods of the Earth" is just as wild, heavy and rock-hard as the Sword's debut album, but they rev up the tempo with this one -- just listen to the speed of "Under the Boughs." We get raw, rough, intertwined basslines race along at sixty MPH, pausing occasionally for the sharp-edged electric riffs, elaborate acoustic bits, and some solid drumming. But the powerful bass playing is what really pushes this epic, fast-moving music along.JD Cronise's voice gets a bit buried in the mix, but he yowls nicely when you can hear him. The lyrics are probably the weakest point. They're colourful and evocative ("They come with teeth and tusks and talons/They come with horns and hooves and claws/A wailing cry is heard deep within the forest...") but their lyrics get very stilted at times ("Our legends tell of weapons/Wielded by kings of old/Crafted by evil wizards/Unholy to behold").In fact, they're at their strongest when they don't try too hard, such as in the relatively simple "Maiden, Mother and Crone": "Walk not down that road/I can not tell you where it goes/Ask me no more questions/Some things you weren't meant to know.""Gods of the Earth" suffers from some awkward lyrics, but their muscular, blazing, D&D-geeky brand of metal is almost powerful enough to drown that out. Definitely worth hearing.

The Sword are a brilliant band and it looks like they will soon be recieving the attention they deserve after their tour with Metallica earlier this year.This album is very reminiscent of Black Sabbath from Master of Reality onwards, the guitar riffs are simply huge and covered in fuzz whilst Cronise wails away like Ozzy. However, it would be unfair to simply brand them a Sabbath tribute as they have a very modern approach and are slightly more technical. The lyrics may be fantasy based but they carried off a lot better than say, Dragonforce as they actually make sense and hold a larger vocabulary.My only issue with the album is the mixing does not seem to be quite up to scratch, the heavier moments are slightly blurred and undistintive with the vocals heavily buried in the mix. Also, there are a few guitar solos but a band this epic really needs more, perhaps this will be addressed on future albums as this is only their second. In short if you are a fan of Black Sabbath or would just like to see what happened when stoner metal met power metal you should buy this album.Oh, and don't make the same mistake I did, you can buy this bundled with "age of winters" for the same price...

If you want 50 minutes of earth shattering 'stoner metal', this is the album for you. This and all of their other albums too. I can't wait to see what this band will do for music in the years to come...