“High Country”: The Sword Don’t Really Sound Like Black Sabbath Anymore

Will High Country be the album that makes me finally stop busting The Sword’s balls about sounding exactly like Black Sabbath? Based on the newly-released title track, the answer would seem to be: yes!

Don’t get me wrong — the track still sounds totally retro and designed for use with marijuana. But it’s much too hippie-dippie-ish to really be a Sabbath song. I mean, the opening lyrics are “Brothers, sisters, listen to the earth,” which should give you an idea of the song’s general vibe. It also has a really fun use of what I think must be a wooden agogo, or something similar. Whatever it is, it feels totally groovy, man.

Listen to the title track from High Country here. The album comes out August 21. You can pre-order it here.