The Sword have been touring across North America since their latest effort Used Future was released this past March. We were lucky to see their return to New York City’s Irving Plaza last June as it’s been thirteen years since they performed at that venue. While their performance appeared to be top-notch, it looks like being on the road for so long has taken its tolls. Unfortunately, these Texas doom metal titans have decided to go on a hiatus after their North American run wraps up on October 2nd. They’ve already cancelled their Australian tour dates as the band explained:

“After 15 years of nonstop recording and touring, The Sword will take a hiatus following their U.S shows at the beginning of October. The Australian tour scheduled for the end of October has been cancelled. The band apologizes to their Australian fans, but feel it is time for a breather.”

We caught up with guitarist Kyle Shutt last June and back then he mentioned how fast time flies:

“You got to put down at least six months in advance, so we do that for a while. It sort of stacks up and before you know it, two years have gone by. And then you do that six times in a row. A dozen years go by. It’s kind of weird.”

We are curious if this hiatus has been something they’ve been planning for a while now. Regardless, we hope this suspension will be brief and will see them return in no time.