the Sword : "Used Future"

Never really been all that into these guys. Reasonably familiar with their work, prefer their older more metallic moments. They have grown into more of a 70s styled prog band that is still more song oriented like the more radio friendly albums from that era, so not King Crimson. "Deadly Nightshade" is the kind of retro rock I expect from them. After a few listens the song din't blow me , but is easy to listen. I like the groove to "Twilight Sunrise", but the vocals are not as catchy as those on the previous song. The guitar is busier. "The Wild Sky" has more punch when it comes down from space at hits you with the chug. It a cool drugged out jam with interesting sound, and for an instrumental manages to keep my attention. There is more of a 70s feel to "Sea of Green" that almost feels more like ZZ Top. So far this is the strongest song on the album as all the varied elements work in conjunction to create a groove. The plaintive vocals sit in the right space. The songs winds it way around to a more 60s haze. The guitar solo is well placed and performed. I can see these guys doing well with jam band kids.

"Nocturne" is less of an instrumental that stands on it's own and more of an interlude. It is very Pink Floyd with hints of kraut rock. There is a very stoned glaze to " Don't Get too Comfortable". It works as a song, but doesn't stand out against the others. The title track sounds like it could be a Lynyrd Skynyrd b-side. For what it is it's entertaining. "Come and Gone" reminds me of early 60's psyche rock like Coven or Atomic Rooster, more floating and surreal than mystic. They get back to a more ballsy rock approach on "Book of Thoth". It establishes a pretty decent groove. Not as fantasy oriented as Uriah Heap, it does come from a similar era of sound.

"Brown Mountain" is a return to more of a southern rock sound. Progressive rock atmospherics sit behind it to create an odd landscape. I would be leery of anyone claiming this is the album of the year,but it's better than their acoustic stuff and they are good at what they do .I'll give this one an 8.5, while i enjoyed the listens I gave this one , when I want to hear this sort of thing chances are I'll go to the source. If you are a fan then it will live up to your expectations.

The Sword : "Low Country"

So here is an acoustic take on the Sword's last album "High Country" . It finds it self  falling some where between Heart and country music, the vocals are more dead pan "Empty Temples".The vocals pick it up a little, but doesn't do a whole lot for for me. There is more of a 60s rock vibe to "High Country". When the female vocals come in then things get more country.  "Mist and Shadow" starts off more country, but does a better job of building into something more rock. They can't shake the country on "Seriously Mysterious"  in places it reminds me of Neil Young. Lots of layered vocals on the chorus. I can mid way into this that is album is not something I would really care to see live.

The production of "Early Snow" makes it come across more like a newer country song ,with the bass and drums drive the song in a poppier manner. "the Dream Thieves" takes the 60s sound and runs with it in a much better direction. The vocals are half of what makes this more of a winning battle. They break out the drum machines and synths for "Buzzards". This sounds like a lost classic from the 80s or a Residents song. I think this is a direction this band needs to really explore further. There is not much really to this version of "Ghost Eye". "Bees of the Spring" finds them back in the super stoned 60's folk rock place that bands like the Zombies used to occupy.

I'll give this album a 6.5 as it generally doesn't work as well as it's more amplified counter part. Then again I don't do drugs anymore so I might have forgotten what it is like to be so high I wished the album I was listening to would have a mellower version so it doesn't ruin my buzz. However if those are thoughts you find yourself having then this album might appeal more you to.

Cough : "Still They Pray"

This self professed stoner sludge band, gives us the chance to explore where the lines between sludge and doom lie. The opener is dense and has a more impressive vocal performance than I expected. It is slow and powerful, but the raw fuzzed out distortion hits you more like a wall than wallows in the mournful atmosphere. About six minutes into the lumbering 8 minute jam it's sluggishness strikes me as slightly repetitive. So this may or may not be an ill omen of what's to come for the seven other songs to come. With members from Windhand and the Sword there is no doubt in regard to the caliber of these guys talent. There is more of a snarl to "Possession" that brings the band Indian to mind. The clean vocals remind me a little more of Mudhoney when they come in. This brings up an interesting point which is sludge tends to have more punk roots than doom, which is a more un-apologetically metal genre.

With "Dead Among the Roses" the lyrics take on a  a darker and more sorrow prose. the vocals are a tenor sneer with enough of an edge to it to not sound like an Ozzy wannabe. They drone on the same riff spicing it up with a guitar solo here and there. The slowly begin pressing down on the gas to accelerate. "Masters of Torture" finds the vocals get nastier as the music slows to a more oppressive pound. I like the chant of " live to hate , hate to live" There is more disgust than depression here. There is a stab at actual singing on "Let it Bleed". The instrumental jam "Shadow of the Torturer" is one of those songs I can hear going over well live, but little more than back ground music when playing it at home.

The more anguished drone of "The Wounding Hours" that really benefits from the pulse of the synth beneath it it more engaging than the previous song. Vocally the harsh screams are emoted from a place similar to Eyehategod here. The title track is an acoustic ballad , which is pretty straightforward almost folk. This is good for what it is, I can let it play, but nothing too ground breaking I'll give it a 7.5.

the Sword : " High Country"

Catching up on some album's I passed over  earlier in the year. The trend in the stoner rock movement must be after you have graduated from Black Sabbath, then it's time to start sounding like Thin Lizzy. This is the conclusion drawn after hearing the opening to the Sword's new album "High Country". The boogie continues with more of a Blue Oyster Cult thing going on for the title track. This is an improvement from the lack luster opener. The more melodic "Tears Like Diamonds" allows the vocal melody to find a better flow , making it one of the album's better songs. It's more original than the first two for sure. They relax into the rising smoke of their bongs on "Mist and Shadow". It's hard to think of these guys as a metal band any more as they are even more rock n roll than say Kyuss. They have dug deep into the early annuls of hard rock as you can hear traces of bands like Electric Rooster and Spirit creeping through the songs.

Their is a weird funk groove to the oddness that is " Seriously Mysterious". This is one of the more original songs on the album, not sure if all the bizarre elements are fused with the most grace , but it is interesting, almost like a collaboration between Lenny Kravitz and Uriah Heap. The instrumental " Suffer No Fools" might rocker than anything else up to this point on the album, but it seems like an extended intro for the song that follows."Early Snow" ambles along a middle ground and aside from brass accents is nothing special. They find a marginally harder groove that works well with the vocal line on "the Dreamthieves". Then the album really begins to find it's self mired down in the same old same old with "Buzzards" attempting to rock out from out of habit than organically.

The put a little more of a stoner stomp into  the chug of "Ghost Eye".  The intro to "Turned to Dust" reminds me a little of "Hells Bells". It shuffles off from this with the vocals laying back behind the restrained riff, giving this one more dynamic range. They retain this more reserved groove with "the Bees of Spring" that closes out the album. The only problem is this is too close to what they did on the song before, so dynamically the impact is diminished and a final minute of rocking is too little to late. The Sword must be more hype than not, while it's not a shabby album , well recorded and preformed, it's a step away from metal, so any end of the year metal lists with this album on it should be held highly suspect I'm rounding it down to a 6.5.