VINYL FORMAT. Recorded at Folkvang Studios in Austin, TX, Gods of the Earth instantly conveys what words can only try to describe: The Sword is not to be taken lightly. From the moment the album's lead track "The Sundering" explodes, it is immediately apparent that The Sword has upped the ante on a sound all its own.

More ambitious, more accomplished and simply bigger, Gods of the Earth's huge, mountaintop-friendly hooks, thunderous drumming and oceanic bass lines cut through the air like a scythe, while the ominous vocals of frontman J.D. Cronise weave fantastical tales rife with myth and mythology. Waves of powerful riffs and low-end thunder dominate songs such as the immediate "Maiden, Mother & Crone," "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians," "Under the Boughs" and the paralyzing "The Black River."