Warp Riders
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''Warp Riders'' is the third
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
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 ...
. Recorded at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas with producer
Matt Bayles Matt Bayles (; born October 19, 1972) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, ...
, it was released by
Kemado Records Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002 by Andrés Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp. In 2006 the label released the ''Invaders (compilation album), Invaders'' compilation, which featured many of the label's b ...
in August 2010. ''Warp Riders'' was written and recorded as a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
centered on an original
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
narrative written by vocalist and guitarist
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 ...
, and marks a conscious change in style from
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
to a more
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
-influenced sound. The Sword's third album is the first by the band to be produced by someone other than frontman Cronise, who handled production duties on '' Age of Winters'' and ''
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 # ...
''. It was also the last album to feature original drummer Trivett Wingo, who left the band in October 2010 early into the promotional tour for the record, citing physical and mental exhaustion. The album was also the group's last to be released under their deal with Kemado Records, before signing with
Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles and ...
in 2012. The
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
from ''Warp Riders'' was "Tres Brujas", which was released as a digital download in July 2010. The song is also featured as the first in a trilogy of music videos to promote the album, which also includes "Lawless Lands" and "Night City". The second single from the album is "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire", released in November 2010. ''Warp Riders'' was a relative commercial success, peaking at number 42 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and the album was promoted on the
Warp Riders Tour The Warp Riders Tour is a 2010–2011 worldwide concert tour by American heavy metal band the Sword. Beginning on October 1, 2010 in the United States, the tour is in promotion of the band's upcoming 2010 third album ''Warp Riders'', released on ...
starting in November 2010.


Writing and recording

It first came to light that the Sword was working on a follow-up to ''
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 # ...
'' in August 2009, when the band revealed that "The writing process is nearing completion, and demoing will soon commence. Recording will follow in the fall with a release as soon as the suits can get it together. The record will be a concept album centered around an original
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
narrative". The first performance of new material came at
Fun Fun Fun Fest Fun Fun Fun Fest (often abbreviated as "FFF" or "F3F") was an annual music and comedy festival held in Austin, Texas, United States. It featured stages that focused specifically on hip-hop / electronica, indie rock, punk / metal, and comedy. S ...
in November, with drummer Trivett Wingo comparing this practice to the first performance of tracks from ''Gods of the Earth'' at the 2007 edition of the festival. An update regarding the album was issued in December, explaining that the band had nearly completed the writing process for the record, would begin recording in early 2010, and were to embark on a short regional tour in January. In February 2010 it was revealed that, contrary to the practice exercised on the band's previous two albums, frontman J. D. Cronise would not be producing the upcoming third album; instead production and engineering would be led by
Matt Bayles Matt Bayles (; born October 19, 1972) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, ...
, known for his work with such bands as
Mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...
,
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
and
Minus the Bear Minus the Bear are an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound has been described as " Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophi ...
. It was also revealed at this time that recording for the album had begun, at a recording studio in Austin, Texas known as The Wire. By April the Sword had completed the recording of its third album, although no further details were given regarding a track listing, title or release date. Cronise assured fans in April, in response to the query "Give us a status report on what's been recorded so far and what it sounds like" from an interviewer, that the album was "completely done" and contained "things ... that our fans will be very glad to hear, and ... things they don't know they'll be glad to hear until they hear them".


Composition and style

In the band's first update regarding the third album, it was revealed that the album was to be "a concept album centered around an original science fiction narrative." In March 2010, primary songwriter Cronise added further detail to this idea by suggesting that the album would have a "broader hard rock sound", explaining that "It's really a concept record. The songs revolve around a concept we came up with or spin off from it. It's not the kind of fantasy concept though, it's more sci-fi." Cronise also offered the following explanation of the album's direction in an interview with ''
Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...
'': It was revealed as early as November 2009 that the band were aiming to take a new direction with the third album, with Cronise explaining that "coming up with eight or nine or 10 different themes or songsevery couple years, well, it's a little daunting some times, especially for me personally" and noting that "Given the types of themes we'd covered already, I didn't really want to revisit the same stuff again on another record and talk about the same things and doom and gloom and sorcerers and ravens and things. So, we just kind of wanted to change it up and do something a little different." Further elaboration was also given on the 'science fiction concept album' idea, with Cronise explaining that "It's
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
, in a way. It's not like ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' science fiction ... laser guns and action all the time. It's more cerebral in that it's still mythological in the way it's told. It's science fiction and there's spaceships and robots, but it doesn't take place in the future. It's just like another planet far away sort of thing. Otherworldly. And of course, it will have universal-type themes in it. I wanted to create a completely original kind of setting to have the songs take place in." Predicting critical reception to the new direction of the album, Cronise proposed that "It will absolutely alienate some fans. The kind of music we play is partially described as heavy metal and unfortunately, a lot of dudes that like heavy metal are very narrow-minded and only like it to sound one particular way. So I'm sure we alienated people with our second album." Despite this, he assured that the sound of the music would not change as much, explaining that "There'll definitely still be heavy stuff on the record, and fast, thrashy, and slow and sludgy stuff like we've done before. Heavy metal, basically. But a lot of the songs are just what I'd call hard rock songs. The attitude and the vibe is different. It's not as aggressive, sonically. It's a little bit more ... I don't know how to explain it. It's just rock. It's a rock album. Some parts will be heavier than the heaviest stuff we've done, but at the same time, there will be acoustic stuff. It is a varied record, I guess. Music news website MetalInsider.net mentioned the album on its
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
profile, saying "Listening to some new Sword album. Mind blown. Sounds like
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...
crashed into C.O.C. instead of a mountain." According to the
press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...
, the album "is anchored by an epic science-fiction narrative" and "the storyline is a psychedelic space opera that explores temporal themes of death and rebirth."


Science fiction storyline

The band's official website gives an in-depth description of the album's science fiction storyline: Music website
musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
also briefly detailed the synopsis of the album's story, explaining that "we follow the tale of an archer by the name of Ereth, who has been cast out from his tribe on the planet Acheron. As luck would have it the planet has undergone a tidal lock, causing one half to be cast in shadow, whilst the other is burnt to a crisp by a set of unforgiving suns. With light and shade being quite a feature of the planet, it was only a matter of time before a battle between good and evil broke out – cursed metaphors. ''Warp Riders'' follows this tale to the bitter end."


Album cover

The album cover was revealed in late June; designed by artist Dan McPharlin, it is said to pay homage to the authors that inspired the album's lyrics.


Release

It was on April 30, 2010 that the album's title and release date were confirmed as ''Warp Riders'' and August 24. On May 14, 2010 the first song titles for ''Warp Riders'' – "Acheron/Unearthing the Orb" and "(The Night Sky Cried) Tears of Fire" – were confirmed.
Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...
reported the following descriptions: The
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
from the album was "Tres Brujas", which was released as a digital download on July 6, 2010. The song is also the first in a planned trilogy of
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s to be produced by Artificial Army (who worked on the video for "Maiden, Mother & Crone"), which will begin in August and continue with "Lawless Lands" and "Night City", while "(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire" will also be released as a 12" picture disc. In revealing details of the album's artwork, Blabbermouth.net also named more new songs to be released as singles and/or music videos: lead single "Tres Brujas" and music videos "Lawless Lands" and "Night City". On July 18, 2010, the Sword reported on their official
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page that "We are almost done shooting our radical video trilogy for Night City, Tres Brujas and Lawless Lands. First installment should be out first week of August", and uploaded a screenshot from one of the videoshoots. Beginning on August 20, the Sword have been streaming ''Warp Riders'' in full on their MySpace page for free. The music video for "Tres Brujas" began streaming, also on MySpace, from August 23. In reply to a query from a fan on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, the band revealed that they are planning on releasing a
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
based on the ''Warp Riders'' album.


Reception

''Warp Riders'' has received generally favourable reviews from music critics.
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
awarded the album an A grade in its review, with critic Leonard Pierce summarised the album by noting that "the music is gripping, intense, and unimpeachably heavy from the psyched-out mania of “Acheron” to the end." Pierce also suggested that "There isn’t a bad song on the record, and it delivers solid stand-outs ... while remaining a surprisingly unified whole." Eduardo Rivadavia of
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 ...
awarded the album three and a half stars out of a possible five, the same as ''
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 # ...
'' but one less than '' Age of Winters'', and praised the band's choice to change direction both musically and thematically, highlighting "
Tres Brujas ''Warp Riders'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band the Sword. Recorded at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas with producer Matt Bayles, it was released by Kemado Records in August 2010. ''Warp Riders'' was written and recorded a ...
", "Lawless Lands" and "The Warp Riders" as particularly notable tracks. Reviewing the album for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, critic Noel Gardner suggested that ''Warp Riders'' "is not likely to blow the mind of anyone well versed in this strain of chest-puffing metal, either in terms of originality or any member’s technical ability", although did recognise that "The Sword have stepped up a gear with this release, and ought to crumble the defences of more than a few cynics." Writing for website
musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
, Sam Shepherd praised the album, summarising it as "vital and thrilling". In ''
Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...
'' Mike Kemp concluded that "the riffs remain as ample and hard-hitting as ever, and with Matt Bayles (
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
,
Mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...
) handling the production, the Sword have never sounded better." The album also reached number 42 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, a personal record for the band.


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 ...
s *Kyle Shutt – guitars *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 ...
*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 ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
;Additional personnel *
Matt Bayles Matt Bayles (; born October 19, 1972) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, ...
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 ...
,
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,
organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
,
synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s *Joey Benjamin – engineering assistance *Chris Common – engineering assistance *George Marino – mastering *Dan McPharlin –
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 ...
,
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...


Release history


References

{{Authority control 2010 albums The Sword albums Albums produced by Matt Bayles Science fiction concept albums