The Sword have returned from their hiatus and have a heap of surprises for their fans. The Austin, TX metallers have announced two career-spanning collections, which will be released simultaneously showcasing their career spanning over fifteen years. On June 5th, the group will release Conquest of Kingdoms, a three-disc vinyl collection of rarities and oddities, as well as Chronology 2006-2018, a three-disc compilation. A digital version will also be available for Conquest of Kingdoms. In addition to the vinyl release, there will be a limited-edition color variant, which will be available on the band’s website.
To celebrate both collections, the group has unleashed a previously unreleased version of “Freya,” which was recorded at Stubbs in Austin, TX in 2011.
Check out the recording below and pre-order Conquest of Kingdoms here and the Chronology set at this location:
Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Lamb of God’s Mark Morton, and Clutch’s Neil Fallon have contributed to the chronology package liner notes, which you can see a few recollections below:
Lars Ulrich:
“The Sword blew my mind. The best music always sounds like it threads through, and is part of, some sort of lineage, some sort of continuity, some sort of history, but always with its own additional X factor… For me, they were one of the few with that aforementioned additional X factor, so we should absolutely celebrate their inspirational music.”
Mark Morton:
“The Sword was a band I had been waiting for… a band that I wished I was in… a heavy blues, acid rock, psychedelic, intergalactic riff paradise. In my estimation, The Sword was the perfect blend of Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Sleep and Clutch… somehow familiar yet incredibly fresh at the same time.”
Neil Fallon:
“The phrase ‘world building’ is usually reserved for science fiction and fantasy. But I think you could apply it to The Sword as well. The lyrics and music capture the spirit of what first attracted me to heavy metal, namely, the escapism. There’s only a handful of bands that do this convincingly, and The Sword is one of them.”
The group’s Bryan Richie comments on the release:
“We’ve got all these exclusive 7”s and a split record or two, that were pressed in 1,000 quantities. Maybe people heard those tracks on a YouTube stream in not really the greatest quality. As the band had gone on hiatus, we had this wealth of material to share including live sets – things that were sitting on my hard drive for years, things that were given to me at shows. It seemed like the right time.”
Vocalist/guitarist John D. Cronise adds:
“The CD package will be more of a career retrospective with selections from each of our albums as well as the rarities and B-sides and things. Sort of a mini box set, you could say. The set will include a booklet with essays and photos, to make it special and extra. Whereas the LP release [Conquest of Kingdoms] is more streamlined, with just the B-side and rarities material. Personally for me, that’s what’s exciting about the releases. A lot of that stuff I never thought would see the light of day but I always thought was really cool and was proud of.”
Conquest of Kingdoms Track List:
Side A
01) The Horned Goddess (live)*
02) Barael’s Blade (live)*
03) Lament for the Aurochs (live)*
04) Iron Swan (live)*
Side B
01) The Sundering (live)*
02) Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians (live)*
03) The Black River (live)*
04) The White Sea (live)*
Side C
01) Sea of Spears (live)*
02) Freya (live)*
03) Night City (live)*
04) The Chronomancer II: Nemesis (live)
Side D
01) He’s Waiting (C Average Version)
02) Sea of Spears
03) Immigrant Song
04) Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
05) Codex Corvidae
06) Freya ‘08*
Side E
01) Forever My Queen*
02) She*
03) Daughter of Dawn
04) Farstar
05) Cold Sweat
06) Cheap Sunglasses
Side F
01) Hammer of Heaven
02) Hexenringe
03) Seriously Mysterious (Level One Remix)*
04) John the Revelator
05) Turnt to Dust*
06) Serpent Weather
Digital Track List:
01)The Horned Goddess (Live)*
02) Barael’s Blade (Live)*
03) Lament for the Aurochs (Live)*
04) Iron Swan (Live)*
05) The Sundering (Live)*
06) Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians (Live)*
07) The Black River (Live)*
08) The White Sea (Live)*
09) Sea of Spears (Live)*
10) Freya (Live)*
11) Night City (Live)*
12) The Chronomancer II: Nemesis (Live)
13) He’s Waiting (C Average Version)
14) Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
15) Freya ‘08*
16) Forever My Queen*
17) She*
18) Daughter of Dawn
19) Farstar
20) Cheap Sunglasses
21) Hammer of Heaven
22) Hexenringe
23) Seriously Mysterious (Level One Remix)*
24) John the Revelator
25) Turnt to Dust
26) Serpent Weather
*previously unreleased
Chronology 2006-2018 Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01) Freya
02) Winter’s Wolves
03) The Horned Goddess
04) Iron Swan
05) How Heavy This Axe
06) Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians
07) Maiden, Mother & Crone
08) The Black River
09) Acheron/Unearthing the Orb
10) Lawless Lands
11) The Warp Riders
12) (The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire
13) The Horned Goddess (live)*
14) Barael’s Blade (live)*
15) Lament for the Aurochs (live)*
16) Iron Swan (live)*
Disc 2:
01) Cloak of Feathers
02) Dying Earth
03) Seven Sisters
04) Apocryphon
05) Empty Temples
06) Mist & Shadow
07) Early Snow
08) The Dreamthieves
09) Seriously Mysterious (acoustic)
10) Buzzards (acoustic)
11) Deadly Nightshade
12) Sea of Green
13) Used Future
14) Come and Gone
15) Sea of Spears (live)*
16) Freya (live)*
17) Night City (live)*
18) The Chronomancer II: Nemesis (live)
Disc 3:
01) He’s Waiting (C Average Version)
02) Sea of Spears
03) Immigrant Song
04) Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
05) Codex Corvidae
06) Freya ’08*
07) Forever My Queen*
08) She*
09) Daughter of Dawn
10) Farstar
11) Cold Sweat
12) Cheap Sunglasses
13) Hammer of Heaven
14) Hexenringe
15) Seriously Mysterious (Level One Remix)*
16) John the Revelator
17) Turnt to Dust*
18) Serpent Weather
*previously unreleased
