2006 was the first year in a long, long time that I listened to much metal. Not that I listen to a great deal of it, but still much more than I have in past years. Lo and behold, not one but two metal-ish records made it into my (soon to be published) top 10. One of those is the Sword, Age of Winters, and it's one of the best retro-stoner metal records I've ever heard. Naturally, when I saw they were playing the soon to be closing Northsix, I jumped at the chance to check it out.

Metal shows are a bit strange for me: I'm not used to all the big, burly, angry dudes who make it a point to throw elbows or shove me as they walk by; I'm also pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm that a lot of metal fans are willing to show for bands that I don't often see on the indy-curcuit. The Sword delivered both on Saturday evening, from some obnoxious dude who decided that I really wanted to wear my beer instead of drinking it, to people losing their shit over many, many songs. And losing your shit was well deserved.

The first thing I noticed about the Sword is that they all play really, really sweet gear. Multiple Orange stacks, custom guitars, all of which sounded GREAT. Especially loud and low. Next, I noticed that the Sword play behind two banners with a midieval looking raven logo. Normally, this would make me laugh. But after an hour of non stop heavy, catchy riffs, I came to the conclusion that the Sword can play in front of whatever they like and I won't complain. The Sword's sound is dominated by deceivingly complex time signatures and a two guitar attack unlike most others I've heard. The two guitarists often play the same complicated but catchy riffs note for note, only to occasionally break out for satisfying harmonies. It's like to guys soloing at the same time, without missing a beat. What makes it rock is how it doesn't seem forced or difficult: those guys have their shit together, and everything about the show was seemed super smooth, even when they were heavy. I also liked how you didn't see either of the guitar player's faces from the beginning of the show to the end: it was all hair and head-banging. A thoroughly enjoyable and loud musical event, I don't think this band will be playing places as small as Northsix for very long.

Labels: Concert Reviews, The Sword