''Age of Winters'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band

The Sword The Sword is an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band is composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its ten ...

, released in the United States on February 14, 2006. The Japanese edition, released by record label

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. It is an associate member of the Recording Industry Assoc ...

, contains three bonus tracks recorded live at the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

club in New York City on April 9, 2006. The single released from the album was " Freya", which did not chart. ''Age of Winters'' was later reissued as part of a two-disc box set with ''

Gods of the Earth ''Gods of the Earth'' is the second studio album by American doom metal band The Sword, released in Europe on March 31, 2008, and in the United States on April 1. It gave the band their first experience of commercial success when it peaked at # ...

'' on November 25, 2008.

Reception

The Sword's debut album received a widely positive critical reaction. Reviewing for music website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Eduardo Rivadavia awarded ''Age of Winters'' 4.5 out of 5 rating stars, qualifying it as an "AMG Album Pick". In the review, Rivadavia claims that the band's debut record "sees them joining California's

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, Sweden's

Witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

, and Australia's

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since t ...

(to name but a few) at the forefront of what's gradually become known in the mid-'00s as the "heritage" or "retro-metal" movement." He goes on to suggest that "the album's main attraction sits megalithic guitar work," concluding that "Age of Winters provides ..listeners with as good an entryway as any into the "retro-metal" universe, while also managing to sound refreshing even to calloused heavy metal ears," which, he suggests, "is no small achievement." Other reviews of ''Age of Winters'' were similarly positive – webzine

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

, awarded the album a favorable rating of seven out of ten, describing it as "one fine, headbang-inducing beast of a debut record," while ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' summarised the album as "literate" and "visceral".

In popular culture

" Freya" appears as a playable song in ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a 2006 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the sequel to ''Guitar Hero (video game), Guitar Hero'' (2005) and the second installment in t ...

'' and ''

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''. as well as the soundtrack of '' Burnout Dominator'', and '' Wayne''. "Barael's Blade" was used in the season five ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'' episode " Rapture's Delight". "Celestial Crown" is featured on the ''

Jennifer's Body ''Jennifer's Body'' is a 2009 American comedy horror film directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody. Starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J. K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, and Adam Brody, the film follows Jennifer Chec ...

'' soundtrack. "Iron Swan" appears in the 2006 video game ''

Tony Hawk's Project 8 ''Tony Hawk's Project 8'' is a 2006 skateboarding video game and the eighth installment in the ''Tony Hawk's'' series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in November 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation ...

'' and also appears in season nine ''

'' episode " Minstrel Krampus".

Track listing

Personnel

;The Sword *

J. D. Cronise John D. Cronise, also credited as J.D. Cronise, is an American heavy metal musician and record producer. Originally from Roanoke, Virginia, he is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and former producer for Austin, Texa ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, mixing * Kyle Shutt – guitars, mixing * Bryan Richie –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing * Trivett Wingo –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, mixing ;Additional personnel * Mike Groener – additional vocal engineering * Rick Essig – mastering *

Conrad Keely Conrad Keely (born 15 May 1972) is a musician, artist, and writer known primarily as the lead singer for the American rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Background Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England of Irish and Thai ...

–

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Age Of Winters The Sword albums 2006 debut albums