Texan heavy metal revivalists The Sword prepare a new, non-concept album Apocryphon for October.
The Sword - Apocryphon
Among the bands reviving classic heavy metal, The Sword are at the forefront, not least due to their triumphant Warp Riders album of 2010.
Their fourth full-length is titled Apocryphon (meaning “secret writing”), recorded in Baltimore with J. Robbins (Jawbox, Clutch); an album of more personal material away from the fable-spinning of the past.
Frontman John D. Cronise said in a press release, “There’s not as much storytelling as on previous albums. There are songs about real life subjects. In a way, I realized music as a vehicle for expressing my own views and thoughts. I shied away from that before in favour of entertaining people with colourful narratives. This is where I’m at.”
He says of the title, “The word Apocryphon came up while I was researching Gnosticism, early Christianity, theosophy, and other esoteric subjects. They’re books that were either banned or removed from the biblical canon. The early church fathers felt that these teachings were either too advanced or dangerous for the masses to be exposed to because they encouraged thought that was antithetical to the church’s system of control, so they were considered heretical and dubbed apocrypha. You’ve got to look beyond what you’re told to the totality of knowledge available to approach any sort of true understanding.”
He concludes, “Music is supposed to transport people somewhere away from their daily lives. For Apocryphon, the idea was to do that in a more introspective and philosophical manner. I’d like it if listeners think a little bit more about life, their existence, and their place in the universe while taking this trip.”
Sounds pretty awesome. The album will be released on Razor & Tie through Shock in Australia, and there are some killer deluxe packages on their website here http://www.swordofdoom.com/. Check out a teaser below.
