There’s a school of thought that suggests the true test of a great song is that it can be stripped down to its bare bones and still have the same impact. Texan riff-mongers The Sword have taken this idea and run with it on their latest release ‘Low Country’, an acoustic re-imagining of their 2015 album ‘High Country’ (we see what you did there). Though hardly an extreme act by any measure, The Sword have thus far built their career on a steady stream of Sabbath and Thin Lizzy worship, so for them to turn the volume down and let the basic skeleton of their sound shine through is a brave step. ‘Low Country’ appears to pass the test though with the band’s songs working just as well, and in some cases even improving on, their amplified counterparts.
Following the country-tinged twang of instrumental opener ‘Unicorn Farm’, the album kicks off proper with ‘Empty Temples’, a song that, in its original form on ‘High Country’, had a very overt progressive rock feel. Here, devoid of distortion and the atmospheric keys that open the original song, we’re left with a showcase for lead vocalist John D. Cronise’s haunting and quite beautiful singing, which in the band’s main guise can often play second fiddle to the abundance of weighty riffs. The soft splashes of cymbal and sparing use of percussion allow the song to breathe, giving it a warm and earthy feel not always present in The Sword’s work. The reworked title track and ‘Mist & Shadow’ both continue this subdued mood, and further permeate the dusty, country-esque vibe the band have channelled – it’s easy to imagine these songs played on a beaten old guitar by the side of a campfire.
For the most part it would be wrong to suggest the re-imaginings of ‘High Country’ are unrecognisable from their original state. The Sword, even at their heaviest, are incredibly skilled at writing memorable hooks and melodies, and these elements transition unscathed onto ‘Low Country’. The band have achieved less of a deconstruction of their material and more of a shift in mood, however there are a couple of curveballs. ‘Buzzards’ in its initial incarnation is a driving, riff-heavy jammer, not unlike Clutch in its mixture of high-octane rock and ass-shaking groove. It’s ‘Low Country’ counterpart, however, sounds like something you’d expect to find on the Miami Vice soundtrack. A pulsing drum machine doused in waves of synth and 80s-style wailing lead guitar are the last things anyone might have expected from The Sword, especially considering this otherwise incredibly stripped-down album. The track in isolation works well, but does stick out like a sore thumb among the gentle strumming on the rest of the record.
Whether ‘Low Country’ signifies the direction The Sword will take from here or just a simple a one-off experiment remains to be seen, however even if this is just a one-and-done for them, the risk has paid off. It would be interesting to see if any of the band’s earlier, arguably heavier material would work this well in a largely acoustic format. The band have certainly proven they’re far from one-trick ponies, and the nuances and subtleties in their songs are strong enough to stand on their own without stacks of amps and crashing drums. It’s unlikely this will be anyone’s go-to The Sword record to put on at a party – give us ‘Age Of Winters’ or ‘Gods Of The Earth’ for that – but ‘Low Country’ more than deserves to be taken as its own beast and is a rewarding listen in its own right.
JAMES LEE