Sword "Lord by Fire" CD
[We Are the Label]
Hell yeah! Six tracks of pummeling sludge in a well focused 33 minutes, featuring members of My War, the Goddamn Wolves, and Façade Burned Black. Not as rocked out as their Richmond, VA citymates in Alabama Thunderpussy; not as oppressively dark as classic Neurosis; cleaner, tighter, and more controlled than Eyehategod - yet comparable elements to all three acts are involved, and the end result could (and should) very well appeal to all such listeners. Slow to midpaced southern tinged rhythmic grooves? Check. Hoarsely shouted/screamed vocals? You betcha. Just the right balance of grimy rock underpinnings and aggressive, rumbling density? Fuck yes! It's all here, and then some. "Radula" opens briefly with cello before introducing the record with one of the more droning and sinister passages herein, granted that within a minute things start building into the churning swagger most representative of this work. "Ride With Thunder and Love" is a little more in your face and hits on a couple of hardcore/punk sounding influences (which are of course prevalent throughout, but more so in theory rather than practice), so perhaps it's no surprise that this one's not ashamed to rock as well? Either way, it kills. "Electrogod" drops back to softly spoken vocals midway through before building back in and quickly sinking into a pulsing bass run with some tripped out watery clean guitars - and just when you think that might be the end, thus return the massive power chords and intense shouts/screams! Despite what its title might suggest, the longer "Flight of the Omega (Icarus: And the End of the World)" is actually among the more consistent and straightforward tracks in terms of overall flow, perhaps more concerned with really pounding things home; whereas six-and-a-half minute closer "Children of Ghede" immediately launches in with an atypically energetic set of chords and chunky picking patterns before seamlessly winding its way into a more open and subtly melodic passage that gives the percussion more breathing room, while the guitars kind of bounce back and forth off of one another before everything thunders back together and closes with the same quaint cello that opened the disc. Nice. The recording is really fucking good, too. I wouldn't mind hearing a hint more heaviness in the future, but they've achieved an excellent sense of clarity here, so I can certainly hang with things as they are. The drums sound fucking awesome - totally natural and resonant, the bass is barely dingy and thickens things up perfectly, the vocals are right in there against the instruments, and the guitars are thick and gritty without overpowering anything or losing their texture in any way (admittedly a positive trait resulting from the fact that they did make sure to keep the heaviness factor in check). As a whole it's really crisp, and I'm all for that. Also excellent is the gorgeous layout, which uses a restrained color scheme and consistent imagery with ultra tiny and compact text for a damn nice aesthetic that works perfectly with the music. Had they printed everything on matte brown paper rather than using a faux textured paper effect within the images themselves it would've been even more amazing, but fuck it, 'cause this shit looks awesome. The lyrics are a pretty interesting blend of twisted traces of rock 'n' roll with a more menacing and abstract approach befitting of the music. So one minute it's, "Yeah, baby I write to you this last love song. I write it with this pen I call a broken heart..." And later it's, "Running through the thick fog and wet grounds. Know that there is a killing chill lurking, ready to strike at my throat, as my feet are tripped up on broken headstones..." I believe this is the first material the band's ever recorded, in which case such an impressive debut should only lead to a darker and more daunting future - which, in this case, is damn sure a good thing! Nicely done, and trust me, if the above description stirs your curiosity, look into this one... you won't be disappointed. Hopefully it won't be long before these cats start making more of a name for themselves out there. Good stuff. (7/10)
Running time - 33:04, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Ride With Thunder and Love, Flight of the Omega (Icarus: And the End of the World), Children of Ghede]
We Are the Label - http://www.wearethelabel.com

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