A Thursday night in Wolverhampton, playing the smallest of the three main venues in the City, is probably not the marker of having 'made it'. After releasing their fifth album, High Country, earlier in the month, this UK tour is providing The Sword with the best chance yet to bring their retro feeling, doom inspired rock to the masses and push themselves one step further into the spotlight.

 

Turning up at The Slade Rooms and seeing a few people milling about as the main support band were going about their business didn’t inspire too much hope for the evening, although seeing a large party turn up and get their tickets on the door made things look a bit rosier. The support band in question were a lot heavier than you’d expect from a band supporting The Sword, unnamed on the posters, they appeared to be a local act. Either way, they were a fairly uninspiring band that a fair few of the crowd got bored of and went back to the bar.

 

As the time for The Sword hitting the stage approached on the venue packed out a bit, probably to around 70% full, and the stench of beer, stale cigarette smoke and unwashed denim jackets clouded the air. There was a buzz in the air as they hit the stage and the sorts of cheers reserved for heroes, that continued as the band flew straight into Buzzards from the most recent release. With this began a surprising sequence of events, a crowd that seemed to know and appreciate more tracks from the new album than from it’s predecessors. This was epitomised by the crowd’s singing along to the opening guitars from Empty Temples. A welcome experience that is usually reserved for guitarists like Slash.

 

Away from the new album, hits like Tres Brujas and Freya littered a setlist that would have been welcomed by their most ardent fan. All were performed with a certain arrogance that adds another level to the show. The expressions on all four band members, but especially guitarist Kyle Shutt, was unchanged for the full set, with only singer J. D. Cronise’s face changing as he stretched to hit the higher and louder notes.

 

In terms of the music, you can fully hear that this band is inspired by the mighty Black Sabbath. Some of the riffs are borderline identical to those from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and live they sound just as if the legendary Tony Iommi is in the room. Some people might find this to be a bit close to the mark and more plagiarism than homage, but for those with a bit more understanding of the band and their intentions it is clear this is just a way of thanking one of the band that has inspired most of their peers.

 

So, on this Thursday night in Wolverhampton, The Sword played out a set containing tracks from their first album to their most recent, encapsulating the spirit of rock n’ roll from years gone by. These guys aren’t to everyone’s tastes, but their music is top quality and they have no qualms with pulling it off either. Just ask all the sweaty metal fans filtering out onto the streets of Wolverhampton last week.