Sword is a Canadian heavy metal band from

Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River just east of Montreal. It lies on the west flank of Mont Saint-Bruno, one of the Monteregian Hill ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, that was formed in 1981 and is still active to this day. To date, they have released three studio albums, one compilation, one live album and three singles.

History

In 1981, south of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in Saint Bruno de Montarville,

, Rick (vocals) and Dan Hughes (drums) formed a heavy metal band called Sword. They were joined by guitarist Mike Plant and bassist Mike Larocque in the first lineup of the band. They signed their first commercial contract in 1984 with Aquarius Records. Sword released two albums for Aquarius in the late 1980s; the debut album '' Metalized'' in 1986"Sword Metalized (Re-issue)"
''Metal Temple'', by Grigoris Chronis at 06 March 2009 and its follow-up '' Sweet Dreams'' in 1988. They toured in the support slot for

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

and

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, and the group opened for

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

on their ''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by the American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmu ...

'' tour in 1986. Rick Hughes also formed Saints & Sinners and released a self-titled album with them. In October 2006, Aquarius Records released '' The Best of Sword'' a compilation album. ''Metalized'' was re-issued in 2009. Throughout their career, Sword sold in excess of 180,000 albums. Sword has been more active since 2011 when they reunited for a show in Saguenay. They have since played various festivals in Canada and Germany. In 2016, they released ''Live Hammersmith'', recorded while they were on tour supporting Motörhead in 1987. Sword's third studio album (their first in 34 years) titled ''III'' was released on November 25, 2022. The band is currently writing new material for their next album.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Metalized'' (1986) *'' Sweet Dreams'' (1988) *''III'' (2022)

Live albums

*''Live Hammersmith'' (2016)

Compilation albums

*'' The Best of Sword'' (2006)

Related information

In 2006, Rick Hughes released a solo album called ''Train d'enfer''. Mike Plant plays guitar for the band Porn Flakes.

References

External links

Rick Hughes websiteRoadrunner Records
{{Authority control Canadian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups from Quebec Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Musical groups established in 1981 1981 establishments in Quebec