The Sword, Castle

The Sword kicks off tour with Castle and American Sharks

Austin, Texas locals The Sword launched their North American tour on Thursday, July 25, at the Granada Theater in Dallas. Joining them on tour are fellow Austin rockers American Sharks and San Francisco doom/thrash trio Castle.

American Sharks started the night off at warp speed with a metal-tinged punk set. They seemed to be having a hell of a good time on stage; hopefully they can maintain that energy throughout the tour. While on tour, they are selling limited quantities (4 per night) of their 7” release, Weedwizard.

Castle has picked up a new drummer, Al McCartney, since they came through Dallas in February. He turned out to be a fantastic addition, and meshed perfectly with the existing powerhouse duo of Elizabeth Blackwell and Mat Davis. It was good seeing them play to a larger crowd than they had at Club Dada earlier this year.

As The Sword was setting up, at the first notes of the sound check, a green cloud started to form in the theater. Stoner metal was not just a label to these fans. Then the curtain went up, the bass kicked in, and the entire crowd started bobbing their heads in unison. Occasionally, a mosh pit would start to form, but these were quickly shut down by Granada security. Even so, the show had everyone enthralled. Favorites included “Freya”, a cover of Rush’s “Working Man,” and encores “Night City” and “Iron Swan” (incidentally, Iron Swan is also the name of the special The Sword ale sold at the show).

The tour will continue across the United States and Canada until the end of August. Check The Sword’s website for dates and locations.

The Sword