Austin, Texas psychedelic metal act The Sword’s intimate show at Cherry Bar was the greatest rock show I have seen so far this year. Cherry booker and co-owner James Young pointed out how lucky the capacity crowd of 200+ was to see these guys playing here, as they’re normally seen at large metal festivals and have also supported Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.
First up, however, was new rock act Devil Electric. Fronted by the richly voiced Pip O’Brien, the band ripped through classic metal riffage with a doom metal overtone; their debut single Devil’s Bells was a highlight.
Primary support Two Headed Dog put on a mesmerising set of lush psychedelia accented by hard rocking crescendos. The original lineup of Tony Alkemade (guitar and vocals), Michael Stepheo (organ and harmonica) and Andrew Alkemade (drums and lead vocal), has grown with the inclusion of Long Holiday bassplayer Andie Fitzpatrick, whose bass rhythms filled out Two Headed Dog’s already opulent sound.
Cherry Bar was at capacity and then some when The Sword took the stage. The musical relationship between founding members vocalist/guitarist John D Cronise and lead guitarist Kyle Shutt was astounding to watch – the tacit musical communication between the pair via their axes makes them the Lennon and McCartney of modern metal.
They opened with lead single Tre Brujas (translation: three witches) from 2010’s doom masterpiece Warp Riders. Another highlight from this album came later in the set: the intimidating Night City with Cronise taking us on a journey to a parallel world ruled by outlaws and dark magic.
While The Sword’s album from last year High Country sounded like a departure from their heavier works, its deeply psychedelic, almost Americana material didn’t sound out of place beside the heavier material from 2012’s Apocryphon.
By Dan Watt
LOVED: Being able to stand on the benches.
HATED: Nothing.
DRANK: Pints.
