A Time Capsule

Heavy metal band Sword has recently released their third album after 34 years. After producing two albums in 1986 and 1988 respectively, their new album, simply titled III has been waiting in the wings since about 2018. Hailing from Quebec, the Canadian rock band has had a history in the genre working with bands such as Metallica and Motorhead. Following an undetermined hiatus, the band reunited for touring before preparing their newest project. III was slated to be ready for release in 2020, but due to the pandemic, the band decided to withhold the album until they found it to be safer. Now two years later, the music is finally available. 

The album can be broken up into two halves with an instrumental interlude happening in between. The tone starts distillate and depressed, but very quickly gains determination as the tone becomes more aggressive. Until it breaks in the fifth track, “Unleashing Hell” where the confident, prideful tone bubbles over as the vocals from frontman Rick Hughes reminisce about the days when their first album was released, 1986. The tone shifts at this point, and the rest of the songs on the album reflect that of pain. 

The new album feels as though it has come directly from the 1980s. The heavy chords put the focus on the instrumentation. The emphasis on the instruments allows the interlude to feel less like a stop in momentum and rather as an introduction to the second half of the album. The thrashing, distorted guitar carries the 35 minute musical experience without a break. The lyrics are an additional layer to the music, featuring themes of pain and depression on some tracks, and motifs of confidence and assertiveness. 

For instance, in the opening track, “Bad Blood”, Hugh’s words reflect the depression of their past. A “witness to my ways” as he reflects on how he has acted “shameless through the years.” This attitude is quite different, when compared to “Unleashing Hell” where the tone is much more celebratory. When discussing sex, drugs and debauchery, the band states “We were doing fine and we knew it well / When the time came for Unleashing Hell.” A much more celebratory look at the past. A fitting metaphor for this album’s tribute to the metal scene of the 80s.