The Sword Gods of the Earth

3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Opener 'The Sundering' starts with a quietly fingerpicked intro, then cranks the amps up to 1972, and the chugga-chugga lasts all the way until the thunderous closing duo..."
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "This Austin, Texas band's riffs are so heavy they should be weighed periodically on truck scales..."
"Swords's hell-bent-for-leather propulsion and twisty song structures are more than enough to induce your ears to bleed with pleasure." -- Grade: A-
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his blend of Sabbath-inspired riffing, windswept chug and songs called things like 'Fire Lance Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians' has a neat shtick."
4.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he album's primary footholds -- those downstrokes; that kick drum; those poker-faced paeans to wizards and wenches -- are as true, and as sinisterly black-and-blue, as doom metal gets."
"The Swords' mix of stomping low end, epic crescendos and violently interconnected riffing is just as precisely constructed as something from fellow Austin resident Britt Daniel..."
"[T]he quartet are a band with an unbreakable love for the riff, something that shows on every one of the album's nine songs."
"[S]till as irresistible today as it was some three years ago...'Iron Swan' stomps in a way that has rarely been bettered since."
3 stars out of 5 -- "Galloping fantasies such as 'How Heavy This Axe' and 'Fire Lances Of The Ancient' find J.D. Cronise and Kyle Shutt shredding chainmail riffs and majestic twin-leads..."
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Austin, Texas quartet peel Slayer-inspired twin-guitar leads over guttural riffs....Singer J.D. Cronise yowls with cranky-Viking imperiousness about frost giants, fire lances, burning wastelands and crones."