Austin-based heavy metal band The Sword played Paper Tiger’s main stage Friday Night, delivering a triumphant San Antonio return after the group officially disbanded in 2022.
The Sword first reunited last November for Austin’s Levitation Festival for what many believed would be a one-off performance. However, the band played a few more isolated gigs throughout the winter.
In February, the retro-riffers announced they were officially back together. And, as part of its return, the quartet also revealed it would play both San Antonio and Dallas on a Texas jaunt billed as The Return.
The Sword seems to have a proclivity for taking the stage to a song with a message. At Levitation, the members came out to “The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy. At Paper Tiger Friday night, they emerged to “State of the Nation” by rap group Deltron 3030.
The words “We were always coming back” reverberated through the room as the band walked out to uproarious applause.
The members of The Sword strapped on dueling guitars and ripped into “Tres Brujas” from the album Warp Riders. Other crowd pleasers featured in the set included “Maiden, Mother and Crone,” “Cloak of Feathers,” “Hammer of Heaven” and the band’s most popular track, “Freya.”
Lead vocalist-guitarist John D. Cronise sang of arcane quests and ancient rituals with reverb-drenched vocals reminiscent of the effects employed by Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne. Cronise’s axe fell into lockstep with lead guitarist Kyle Shutt, their instruments perfectly synchronized, whether playing in unison or harmony.
Drummer Santiago “Jimmy” Vela complimented the riffage with complicated fills, working seamlessly in a variety of time signatures.
Officials at the Paper Tiger said the venue sold roughly 900 tickets to the event, nearly rivaling the sold-out Amyl and the Sniffers show on Monday.
Part of the draw might have been that The Sword wasn’t the only guitar-driven outfit blowing minds that evening.
The headliner followed Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, another heavy Austin band, whose fuzzed-out low end provided a solid foundation for Leo Lydon’s razor-sharp vocals. Playing an 8-string guitar, Lydon served up cheeky and catchy lyrics like “1-800-EAT-SHIT” in his high-pitched, nasally delivery.
Much like its name, the band’s lyrics have a sense of humor. So you’re laughing as the sonic onslaught unravels your DNA.
RBBP followed the high-speed desert rock band Pink Fuzz, which hails from Denver, Colorado. While clearly inspired by bands like Queens of the Stone Age, the group possessed a sound totally its own.
With such a riff-heavy lineup, the guitar gods smiled upon us Friday night. And we smiled back.
