THE SWORD’S ‘WARP RIDERS’ AND OTHER RX CD RECOMMENDATIONS

The Sword was long ago stamped with the epithet “hipster metal,” and that isn’t going to change with the release of Warp Riders. The purity police weren’t happy when J.D. Cronise and crew were doing straight-up head-cracking heavy metal, and they aren’t going to be any happier now that The Sword has strayed further into psychedelic and hard-rock territory.

That’s fine, though; it just leaves more for those who are more interested in the music than the label. The concept of Warp Riders, as is the case with most metal-tinged pseudo-rock operas, is a bit impenetrable, but that shouldn’t make a bit of difference, as the music is gripping, intense, and unimpeachably heavy from the psyched-out mania of “Acheron” to the end.

There isn’t a bad song on the record, and it delivers solid stand-outs (“Tres Brujas,” the first single, is a monster) while remaining a surprisingly unified whole. — Leonard Pierce, Onion A.V. Club

STREAM THE ENTIRE ALBUM HERE
BUY THE CD HERE

OTHER NEW CD RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE RX:

Katy Perry Teenage Dream
JP Chrissie (Hynde) and the Fairground Boys Fidelity!
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) Strange Weather, Isn’t It?
Dead Confederate Sugar
Eels Tomorrow Morning
Ra Ra Riot The Orchard
Magic Kids Memphis
Mogwai Special Moves
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan Hawk
Never Shout Never Harmony

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *