Review Summary: The Sword continue to amaze while staying true to their own style.
Since 2006 The Sword have been churning out great metal in great quantities. Whether it was their first two albums' smoky Sabbath-Worship and fantasy-themed lyrics, or the great Sci-fi journey of "Warp Riders", The Sword have not failed to produce exciting metal that feels fresh and original with each new release.
Since their 2010 release "Warp Riders", The Sword have adopted a much more rock-tinged sound, which lends itself to catchier songwriting, and that's one of the things that made that album great, escpecially with songs like "Tres Brujas" and "The Warp Riders". This is an idea not lost on "Apocryphon". While everything is still centered around "the riff", many of these songs possess an inherent sing-along sort of quality. And it certainly helps that J.D. Cronise's vocals have been improving immensely since 2006 (let's be honest, it was ALL about the riffs with "Age of Winters"), it gives the band another outlet for musical exploration.
The fact that the vocals have been improving also speaks for the rest of the band. As The Sword have progressed to this stage of their career, they have been able to compose more complex and interesting music. The guitars of Kyle Shutt and J.D. Cronise are blazing through astoundingly written leads, and pounding out riffs like there's no tomorrow, as they have always done ("Dying Earth", "Seven Sisters"). And the bass playing on this album is strikingly good. Bryan Richie is now playing more well thought out bass lines, cutting through the guitars in just the right way ("Cloak of Feathers", "Dying Earth"). The new drummer Jimmy Vela is certainly holding his own as well, with solid drum fills to compliment the rest of the ensemble. And overall the band (just like with every new album) are growing tighter and tighter as a group, everything falls in place perfectly, and everyone's feeding off of each other constantly. The Sword are a well oiled machine of riffs and fantasy. And with this technical tightness, comes a quality reminiscent of Rush in the early 1980's, while they were packing prog rock epics into 4-5 minute songs. The Sword are just packing their increasingly complex riff-worship into catchy rock songs. It's a very effective way of delivering what really is well composed and interesting music into a box that even the general public wouldn't mind listening to
There are also the additional little flourishes that just add an extra element to the musical interest of these songs. Such as the bells on "Arcane Montane", or the keyboards on "The Veil of Isis", and "Apocryphon". It's a sign that these guys are willing to adventure into a wider array of instruments in order to improve themselves. And while, yes, there are a few slight changes to The Sword's sound (just like "Warp Riders"), one of the big draws this band has is the fact that they play to have a good time, and they stick to their guns while doing it. It's apparent that everyone in the band loves playing this style of metal, and aren't going to quit until they are forcibly stopped. And while this could pose a problem if they don't watch out (repitition can kill a great band), The Sword have continued to remain an instantly recognizable force of musical greatness, while constantly finding something new to refine or improve upon in order to make the band better. Just another great album by a great band.
Standout Tracks - "Dying Earth", "Cloak of Feathers", "Seven Sisters"
