The Sword Have Officially Returned and Announced a Pair of Texas Shows for April
Back in 2022, I remember having the distinct displeasure of reporting that the sludge/stoner/doom metal outfit The Sword was calling it quits. It was the end of an 18-year run and one that as a fan of that particular corner of metal, proved to be a bitter pill to swallow.
Fast forward to this past November at Levitation 2024 and the dudes were back for at least more show. It was an unexpected turn of events that eventually spawned a couple more live opportunities last month, but what happened earlier today was just as — if not more — unexpected. Two more shows were announced for April 10 at the Granada Theater in Dallas, Texas and April 11 at Paper Tiger in San Antonio, Texas.
Oh, and The Sword are fucking back, baybee!
With this year being the 15th anniversary of the absolute banger of an album Warp Riders, now is seemingly the perfect time for the Texas-based band to make a comeback. Speaking of the decision to revitalize the band, songwriter and guitarist J.D. Cronise said in an interview with Revolver that those two new dates are just the beginning for what’s in store for The Sword.
“Well, right now we have a couple Texas shows. We’ve just played Baton Rouge and Houston and Austin, and we’re going to do Dallas and San Antonio [in April]. And then we got lots of more stuff coming up in the summertime.”
Speaking of their reunion shows, guitarist Kyle Shutt said the fan response was tremendous.
“I can’t tell you what it means to see everyone’s positive reception. It feels so good to see people out there almost more enthusiastic about the band than ever – it’s something we’ll never take for granted.”
So there you have it. Things may have looked bleak for The Sword just a couple years ago, but 2025 is looking like it might be one hell of a year for Cronise, Shutt, bassist and keyboardist Bryan Richie, and drummer Santiago Vela. Here’s hoping to even more shows and a new album in the band’s future.
Tickets for the two aforementioned shows in Texas will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. local time. Be sure to get yours as soon as they go live.
