New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "The beauty of rock music at its core is that when a song is forged to be as strong as possible, you can show it to literally anybody, and there will be something for them to latch on to, whether or not they care to admit it. It still holds the power to be subversive, but it's a digestible type of subversion. That's a power not many bands or artists can claim, but it sticks with you when you see it. Which is why the new record by The Sword, High Country is a record that will stick forever." - Vice Noisey
"The
Sword Channel Thin Lizzy,
ZZ Top on New Song Empty Temples." - Rolling Stone
"Upon first listen to "
High Country", even veteran fans of THE SWORD are going to hang speechless. This is hardly the album anyone could've expected following a massive outing like "
Apocryphon". It's better, so much better. There's depth, there's verve and there's veritably no predictability to it.This is the sound of a determined if humble band that has perhaps dealt with a quiet envy of the mainstream success of The
Black Keys and Queens Of The Stone Age, finding their own way of serving themselves and their listeners a groove-hungry fuzz feast with generous helpings of hot 'n globby synth fondue. The
Sword have finessed their act, but even better, they've delivered the perfect top-to-bottom rock record.." - Blabbermouth
"Driving, red-blooded rock sound." - High Times
"The Sword, above all else is a rock band. In the past you could have attached a myriad of different subgenres and qualifiers to their name, but with their new record High Country throws aside all of those descriptors to let you know they've always been a rock band." -Vice Noisey
"The
Sword all but throw that album's playbook out the door on their latest release,"
High Country", an album so flipping good (even for these guys) it hurts." - Blabbermouth
"Metallica-approved riff masters embrace a more classic-rock vibeon fifth album High Country." - Rolling Stone
"Easily the catchiest--and most adventurous-- songwriting of their career. Album opener "Empty Temples" stands alongside some of the best songs put out by '70s rock greats like Thin Lizzy….The
Sword have become a rock-solid outfit worshipping at the altars of many '70s greats, but the bits and pieces they've cribbed have been stirred into an infectiously wicked brew they can truly call their own." - OC Weekly
"It's unexpected and most welcome. While still recognizable as The Sword, High Country proves that the band shines." - Outburn
"If anything, the feel of "
High Country" is less urgent to make a blunt impression and more concerned withswaying the band's girth into the groove of one catchy bobber after another.In other words, this album freaking swings as much as it strains speakers."-Blabbermouth
"[High Country] a groovy ditty worthy of your attention, and we highly recommend giving it a spin." -Ultimate-Guitar
"The record dabbles in waves of classics like
Thin Lizzy or Led Zeppelin, but never long enough to be one-note." -Vice Noisey
"The
Sword Take You To "
High Country" With
Killer New Track…. "
High Country" is just good old fashioned rock n roll." -Metal Injection
"The
Sword shows off lively new soundwith new single "Empty Temples"…. an impeccably produced slice of sun-baked rock.
Heavy guitar lines seem to fly more so than stomp over speedy bass notes and a rollicking bit of percussion." -Consequence of Sound
"[The Dreamthieves] riffs, vocals, and effects all twist together to create a mood that's otherworldly and strange. It's the soundtrack to a roadtrip to another universe that's familiar yet strange, exactly where High Country resides." -Vice Noisey
"High Country springs from a transfixing guitar melody into a sweeping refrain, illuminating the group's inherent dynamics. Over those rolling riffs, the singer paints a thought-provoking topography… High Country is the band's biggest, boldest, and brightest frontier." - Wall Of Sound
"The quartet is still slaying dragons with their throwback '70s sci-fi boogie sound- as heard most effectively on the black light poster imagery and tangled up guitar lines of "Buzzards" and "Mist & Shadow" - that should charm the leather pants off of any hardcore Uriah Heep or UFO fans."
- Substream Magazine
"The Austin quartet proves itself broader than retro headbangingon its fifth full-length. Clearly a transitional LP…eagerly trying on new (for them) sounds: prog, psychedelia, folk." - Austin Chronicle
"For over a decade, they have been winning over metalheadsover with their New Wave of British
Heavy Metal-inspired riffage and their lyrics about elves and goblins, and they're not about to mess with that formula. That's not to say the band haven't progressed, especially as lead vocalist and guitarist J.D. Cronise matures as a songwriter." - New Noise Magazine
"[High Country] a crunchy, riff-fuelled number with a melodic southern rock vibe." - Exclaim
"The guitars and bass on the Thin Lizzy-esque "Empty Temples" are bloody awesome."- Blabbermouth
"[Empty Temples] rides out on a hard-chugging rhythm and twinned-guitar melodies, mining a '70s-styled approach that owes as much to Sabbath as it does to Southern rock. " - Exclaim
"
High Country" being loaded with numerous instrumentals, what THE SWORD does with "Silver Petals" by gently pouring in Richie's keys atop the BEATLES-esque acoustic groundwork is simply wondrous."
- Blabbermouth
"Few modern bands, it could be argued, have so lovingly crafted an arsenal of razor sharp, 'why-didn't-I-think-of-that?' type riffs as The
Sword has." - Sludgelord UK
"It is germane to their persistent evolution as a band and is, quite simply, an absolutely killer album." -Sludgelord UK
"'High Country' is rich in consistency and across its span, Cronise, Shutt and co. dispel any fears you may have about this release all the while oozing a slick professionalism. They've been at this song writing malarkey for a while now, they're hardened pros and this stands testament to their brilliant legacy." -Sludgelord UK
