Warp Riders
Encyclopedia
Warp Riders is the third studio album
by American heavy metal
band The Sword
, released on August 24, 2010. Recorded between February and April 2010 at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas, the album was produced by Matt Bayles
, marking the first time the band had hired an external producer. A concept album
centred on the story of a protagonist named Ereth from a planet called Acheron, Warp Riders marks a conscious change in style for the band, incorporating more elements of hard rock
than on previous albums. It was the last album to feature original drummer Trivett Wingo, who left the band in October 2010.
The lead single
from the album was "Tres Brujas
", released as a digital download
on July 6, 2010. The song has also fronted a trilogy of music video
s to promote the album, which include "Lawless Lands" and "Night City". The second single from the album is "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire
." The band were due to promote the album on the Warp Riders Tour
between October 2010 and March 2011 until Wingo left the group. The album was a relative commercial success, reaching number 42 on the American Billboard 200
chart.
A promotional video for "Lawless Lands" was released Nov. 29, 2010.
blog, revealing that "The writing process is nearing completion, and demo
ing will soon commence. Recording will follow in the fall with a release as soon as the suits can get it together. The record will be a concept album centered around an original science fiction
narrative." In October it was confirmed that the band would perform at the Fun Fun Fun Fest
the following month, and drummer Trivett Wingo suggested that this event would be the first chance for anybody to hear the new material set for the third album, explaining that "At [Fun Fun Fun Fest] in 2007, we played all of Gods of the Earth
months before the album was released. It was the first time many of those songs had ever been performed in public. In keeping with that tradition, we will be performing a whole ton of stuff from our forthcoming and as yet untitled record that we have just finished writing." A further update was issued in December, detailing that the band were "nearing completion of the writing process for [their] upcoming third album. Recording is planned for early 2010, to be preceded by a short regional tour
showcasing the new songs."
In February 2010 it was revealed that, contrary to the practice exercised on the band's previous two albums, vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise would not be producing the upcoming third album; the band instead enlisted the services of producer and engineer Matt Bayles, known for his work with such bands as Mastodon
, Isis
and Minus the Bear
. It was also revealed at this time that recording for the album had begun, at a recording studio known as The Wire. In April, news circulated that The Sword had completed the recording of its third album, although no further details were given regarding a track listing, title or release date. Cronise assured fans in April, in response to the query "Give us a status report on what's been recorded so far and what it sounds like" from an interviewer, that the album was "completely done" and contained "things ... that our fans will be very glad to hear, and ... things they don't know they'll be glad to hear until they hear them."
It was revealed as early as November 2009 that the band were aiming to take a new direction with the third album, with Cronise explaining that "coming up with eight or nine or 10 different themes [for songs] every couple years, well, it's a little daunting some times, especially for me personally" and noting that "Given the types of themes we'd covered already, I didn't really want to revisit the same stuff again on another record and talk about the same things and doom and gloom and sorcerers and ravens and things. So, we just kind of wanted to change it up and do something a little different." Further elaboration was also given on the 'science fiction concept album' idea, with Cronise explaining that "It's psychedelic
, in a way. It's not like Star Wars
science fiction ... laser guns and action all the time. It's more cerebral in that it's still mythological in the way it's told. It's science fiction and there's spaceships and robots, but it doesn't take place in the future. It's just like another planet far away sort of thing. Otherworldly. And of course, it will have universal-type themes in it. I wanted to create a completely original kind of setting to have the songs take place in."
Predicting critical reception to the new direction of the album, Cronise proposed that "It will absolutely alienate some fans. The kind of music we play is partially described as heavy metal and unfortunately, a lot of dudes that like heavy metal are very narrow-minded and only like it to sound one particular way. So I'm sure we alienated people with our second album." Despite this, he assured that the sound of the music would not change as much, explaining that "There'll definitely still be heavy stuff on the record, and fast, thrashy, and slow and sludgy stuff like we've done before. Heavy metal, basically. But a lot of the songs are just what I'd call hard rock songs. The attitude and the vibe is different. It's not as aggressive, sonically. It's a little bit more ... I don't know how to explain it. It's just rock. It's a rock album. Some parts will be heavier than the heaviest stuff we've done, but at the same time, there will be acoustic stuff. It is a varied record, I guess.
Music news website MetalInsider.net mentioned the album on its Twitter
profile, saying "Listening to some new Sword album. Mind blown. Sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd
crashed into C.O.C.
instead of a mountain." According to the press release, the album "is anchored by an epic science-fiction narrative" and "the storyline is a psychedelic space opera that explores temporal themes of death and rebirth."
Music website musicOMH
also briefly detailed the synopsis of the album's story, explaining that "we follow the tale of an archer by the name of Ereth, who has been cast out from his tribe on the planet Acheron. As luck would have it the planet has undergone a tidal lock, causing one half to be cast in shadow, whilst the other is burnt to a crisp by a set of unforgiving suns. With light and shade being quite a feature of the planet, it was only a matter of time before a battle between good and evil broke out - cursed metaphors. Warp Riders follows this tale to the bitter end."
reported the following descriptions:
The lead single
from the album was "Tres Brujas", which was released as a digital download on July 6, 2010. The song is also the first in a planned trilogy of music video
s to be produced by Artificial Army (who worked on the video for "Maiden, Mother & Crone"), which will begin in August and continue with "Lawless Lands" and "Night City", while "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire" will also be released as a 12" picture disc. In revealing details of the album's artwork, Blabbermouth.net also named more new songs to be released as singles and/or music videos: lead single "Tres Brujas" and music videos "Lawless Lands" and "Night City". On July 18, 2010, The Sword reported on their official Facebook
page that "We are almost done shooting our radical video trilogy for Night City, Tres Brujas and Lawless Lands. First installment should be out first week of August", and uploaded a screenshot from one of the videoshoots.
Beginning on August 20, The Sword have been streaming Warp Riders in full on their MySpace page for free. The music video for "Tres Brujas" began streaming, also on MySpace, from August 23. In reply to a query from a fan on Twitter
, the band revealed that they are planning on releasing a comic book
based on the Warp Riders album.
awarded the album an A grade in its review, with critic Leonard Pierce summarised the album by noting that "the music is gripping, intense, and unimpeachably heavy from the psyched-out mania of “Acheron” to the end." Pierce also suggested that "There isn’t a bad song on the record, and it delivers solid stand-outs ... while remaining a surprisingly unified whole." Eduardo Rivadavia of allmusic awarded the album three and a half stars out of a possible five, the same as Gods of the Earth
but one less than Age of Winters
, and praised the band's choice to change direction both musically and thematically, highlighting "Tres Brujas
", "Lawless Lands" and "The Warp Riders" as particularly notable tracks. Reviewing the album for the BBC
, critic Noel Gardner suggested that Warp Riders "is not likely to blow the mind of anyone well versed in this strain of chest-puffing metal, either in terms of originality or any member’s technical ability", although did recognise that "The Sword have stepped up a gear with this release, and ought to crumble the defences of more than a few cynics." Writing for website musicOMH
, Sam Shepherd praised the album, summarising it as "vital and thrilling". In Rock Sound
Mike Kemp concludeded that "the riffs remain as ample and hard-hitting as ever, and with Matt Bayles (Isis
, Mastodon
) handling the production, The Sword have never sounded better." The album also reached number 42 on the Billboard 200
chart, a personal record for the band.
Additional personnel
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band The Sword
The Sword
The Sword is an American heavy metal band that formed in Austin, Texas, in 2003. Since its inception the band has comprised vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt and bassist Bryan Richie, and currently includes touring drummer Jimmy Vela following Trivett Wingo's departure in...
, released on August 24, 2010. Recorded between February and April 2010 at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas, the album was produced by Matt Bayles
Matt Bayles
-Information:Bayles is known for his work with bands such as Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, The Fall of Troy, Minus The Bear, Burnt by the Sun and Norma Jean....
, marking the first time the band had hired an external producer. A concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
centred on the story of a protagonist named Ereth from a planet called Acheron, Warp Riders marks a conscious change in style for the band, incorporating more elements of hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
than on previous albums. It was the last album to feature original drummer Trivett Wingo, who left the band in October 2010.
The lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from the album was "Tres Brujas
Tres Brujas
"Tres Brujas" is a song by American heavy metal band The Sword, featured on their 2010 third studio album Warp Riders. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise and guitarist Kyle Shutt, the song was released in the United States as the lead single from the album as a digital...
", released as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on July 6, 2010. The song has also fronted a trilogy of music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s to promote the album, which include "Lawless Lands" and "Night City". The second single from the album is "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire
(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire
" Tears of Fire", commonly referred to as simply "Tears of Fire", is a song by American heavy metal band The Sword, featured on their 2010 third studio album Warp Riders. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist John "J...
." The band were due to promote the album on the Warp Riders Tour
Warp Riders Tour
Rescheduled tour dates-Tour dates:...
between October 2010 and March 2011 until Wingo left the group. The album was a relative commercial success, reaching number 42 on the American Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart.
A promotional video for "Lawless Lands" was released Nov. 29, 2010.
Writing and recording
In August 2009 the band posted the first news of a new album on their MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
blog, revealing that "The writing process is nearing completion, and demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
ing will soon commence. Recording will follow in the fall with a release as soon as the suits can get it together. The record will be a concept album centered around an original science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
narrative." In October it was confirmed that the band would perform at the Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest is an annual music festival held in Austin, Texas. Started in 2006, the festival brings together many progressive and underground musicians with a focus on indie rock, punk rock/hardcore, and hip hop/DJ....
the following month, and drummer Trivett Wingo suggested that this event would be the first chance for anybody to hear the new material set for the third album, explaining that "At [Fun Fun Fun Fest] in 2007, we played all of Gods of the Earth
Gods of the Earth
-Lyrics:Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River". "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's...
months before the album was released. It was the first time many of those songs had ever been performed in public. In keeping with that tradition, we will be performing a whole ton of stuff from our forthcoming and as yet untitled record that we have just finished writing." A further update was issued in December, detailing that the band were "nearing completion of the writing process for [their] upcoming third album. Recording is planned for early 2010, to be preceded by a short regional tour
The Sword United States Tour 2010
The United States Tour 2010 was a short concert tour by American heavy metal band The Sword. The tour, which was in preparation for the band's third major tour, began on January 23, ended on January 29, and included seven shows. The band were supported at all shows by progressive metal band...
showcasing the new songs."
In February 2010 it was revealed that, contrary to the practice exercised on the band's previous two albums, vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise would not be producing the upcoming third album; the band instead enlisted the services of producer and engineer Matt Bayles, known for his work with such bands as Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, Isis
Isis (band)
Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...
and Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2001, the group features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving...
. It was also revealed at this time that recording for the album had begun, at a recording studio known as The Wire. In April, news circulated that The Sword had completed the recording of its third album, although no further details were given regarding a track listing, title or release date. Cronise assured fans in April, in response to the query "Give us a status report on what's been recorded so far and what it sounds like" from an interviewer, that the album was "completely done" and contained "things ... that our fans will be very glad to hear, and ... things they don't know they'll be glad to hear until they hear them."
Composition and style
In the band's first update regarding the third album, it was revealed that the album was to be "a concept album centered around an original science fiction narrative." In March 2010, primary songwriter Cronise added further detail to this idea by suggesting that the album would have a "broader hard rock sound", explaining that "It's really a concept record. The songs revolve around a concept we came up with or spin off from it. It's not the kind of fantasy concept though, it's more sci-fi." Cronise also offered the following explanation of the album's direction in an interview with Decibel:It was revealed as early as November 2009 that the band were aiming to take a new direction with the third album, with Cronise explaining that "coming up with eight or nine or 10 different themes [for songs] every couple years, well, it's a little daunting some times, especially for me personally" and noting that "Given the types of themes we'd covered already, I didn't really want to revisit the same stuff again on another record and talk about the same things and doom and gloom and sorcerers and ravens and things. So, we just kind of wanted to change it up and do something a little different." Further elaboration was also given on the 'science fiction concept album' idea, with Cronise explaining that "It's psychedelic
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, in a way. It's not like Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
science fiction ... laser guns and action all the time. It's more cerebral in that it's still mythological in the way it's told. It's science fiction and there's spaceships and robots, but it doesn't take place in the future. It's just like another planet far away sort of thing. Otherworldly. And of course, it will have universal-type themes in it. I wanted to create a completely original kind of setting to have the songs take place in."
Predicting critical reception to the new direction of the album, Cronise proposed that "It will absolutely alienate some fans. The kind of music we play is partially described as heavy metal and unfortunately, a lot of dudes that like heavy metal are very narrow-minded and only like it to sound one particular way. So I'm sure we alienated people with our second album." Despite this, he assured that the sound of the music would not change as much, explaining that "There'll definitely still be heavy stuff on the record, and fast, thrashy, and slow and sludgy stuff like we've done before. Heavy metal, basically. But a lot of the songs are just what I'd call hard rock songs. The attitude and the vibe is different. It's not as aggressive, sonically. It's a little bit more ... I don't know how to explain it. It's just rock. It's a rock album. Some parts will be heavier than the heaviest stuff we've done, but at the same time, there will be acoustic stuff. It is a varied record, I guess.
Music news website MetalInsider.net mentioned the album on its Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
profile, saying "Listening to some new Sword album. Mind blown. Sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
crashed into C.O.C.
Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina formed in 1982. For almost the majority of its existence, the band has consisted of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean , drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist and rhythm...
instead of a mountain." According to the press release, the album "is anchored by an epic science-fiction narrative" and "the storyline is a psychedelic space opera that explores temporal themes of death and rebirth."
Science fiction storyline
The band's official website gives an in-depth description of the album's science fiction storyline:Music website musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
also briefly detailed the synopsis of the album's story, explaining that "we follow the tale of an archer by the name of Ereth, who has been cast out from his tribe on the planet Acheron. As luck would have it the planet has undergone a tidal lock, causing one half to be cast in shadow, whilst the other is burnt to a crisp by a set of unforgiving suns. With light and shade being quite a feature of the planet, it was only a matter of time before a battle between good and evil broke out - cursed metaphors. Warp Riders follows this tale to the bitter end."
Album cover
The album cover was revealed in late-June; designed by artist Dan McPharlin, it is said to pay homage to the authors that inspired the album's lyrics.Release
It was on April 30, 2010 that the album's title and release date were confirmed as Warp Riders and August 24. On May 14, 2010 the first song titles for Warp Riders – "Acheron/Unearthing the Orb" and "(The Night Sky Cried) Tears of Fire" – were confirmed. Blabbermouth.netBlabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...
reported the following descriptions:
The lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from the album was "Tres Brujas", which was released as a digital download on July 6, 2010. The song is also the first in a planned trilogy of music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s to be produced by Artificial Army (who worked on the video for "Maiden, Mother & Crone"), which will begin in August and continue with "Lawless Lands" and "Night City", while "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire" will also be released as a 12" picture disc. In revealing details of the album's artwork, Blabbermouth.net also named more new songs to be released as singles and/or music videos: lead single "Tres Brujas" and music videos "Lawless Lands" and "Night City". On July 18, 2010, The Sword reported on their official Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page that "We are almost done shooting our radical video trilogy for Night City, Tres Brujas and Lawless Lands. First installment should be out first week of August", and uploaded a screenshot from one of the videoshoots.
Beginning on August 20, The Sword have been streaming Warp Riders in full on their MySpace page for free. The music video for "Tres Brujas" began streaming, also on MySpace, from August 23. In reply to a query from a fan on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, the band revealed that they are planning on releasing a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
based on the Warp Riders album.
Reception
Warp Riders has received generally favourable reviews from music critics. The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
awarded the album an A grade in its review, with critic Leonard Pierce summarised the album by noting that "the music is gripping, intense, and unimpeachably heavy from the psyched-out mania of “Acheron” to the end." Pierce also suggested that "There isn’t a bad song on the record, and it delivers solid stand-outs ... while remaining a surprisingly unified whole." Eduardo Rivadavia of allmusic awarded the album three and a half stars out of a possible five, the same as Gods of the Earth
Gods of the Earth
-Lyrics:Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River". "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's...
but one less than Age of Winters
Age of Winters
- Personnel :The Sword* John "J. D." Cronise – vocals, guitars, production, mixing* Kyle Shutt – guitars, mixing* Bryan Richie – bass, engineering, mixing* Trivett Wingo – drums, mixingAdditional personnel...
, and praised the band's choice to change direction both musically and thematically, highlighting "Tres Brujas
Tres Brujas
"Tres Brujas" is a song by American heavy metal band The Sword, featured on their 2010 third studio album Warp Riders. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise and guitarist Kyle Shutt, the song was released in the United States as the lead single from the album as a digital...
", "Lawless Lands" and "The Warp Riders" as particularly notable tracks. Reviewing the album for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, critic Noel Gardner suggested that Warp Riders "is not likely to blow the mind of anyone well versed in this strain of chest-puffing metal, either in terms of originality or any member’s technical ability", although did recognise that "The Sword have stepped up a gear with this release, and ought to crumble the defences of more than a few cynics." Writing for website musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
, Sam Shepherd praised the album, summarising it as "vital and thrilling". In Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
Mike Kemp concludeded that "the riffs remain as ample and hard-hitting as ever, and with Matt Bayles (Isis
Isis (band)
Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...
, Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
) handling the production, The Sword have never sounded better." The album also reached number 42 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, a personal record for the band.
Track listing
Personnel
The Sword- J. D. Cronise – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Kyle Shutt – guitars
- Bryan Richie – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Trivett Wingo – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Additional personnel
- Matt BaylesMatt Bayles-Information:Bayles is known for his work with bands such as Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, The Fall of Troy, Minus The Bear, Burnt by the Sun and Norma Jean....
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s - Joey Benjamin – engineering assistance
- Chris Common – engineering assistance
- George Marino – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Dan McPharlin – artworkAlbum coverAn album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
, graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benelux | August 19, 2010 | Kemado Records Kemado Records Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002. In 2006 the label released the Invaders compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Witchcraft, High on Fire and Witch.In 2008, Kemado introduced its... |
CD album Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
KEM 114 | |
| LP album LP album The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
KEM 115 | ||||
| Australia | August 20, 2010 | Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove... |
CD album | KEM 114 | |
| LP album | KEM 115 | ||||
| United Kingdom | August 23, 2010 | Kemado Records | CD album | KEM 114 | |
| LP album | KEM 115 | ||||
| Digital download | — | ||||
| France | August 23, 2010 | Kemado Records | CD album | KEM 114 | |
| Germany | August 23, 2010 | Kemado Records | Digital download | — | |
| United States | August 24, 2010 | Kemado Records | CD album | KEM 114 | |
| LP album | KEM 115 | ||||
| Canada | August 24, 2010 | Kemado Records | CD album | KEM 114 | |
| Germany | August 27, 2010 | Kemado Records | CD album | KEM 114 | |
| LP album | KEM 115 | ||||
| Japan | September 15, 2010 | P-Vine Records P-Vine Records P-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi... |
CD album | PECF3010 |