Gods of the Earth

Gods of the Earth
Studio album by The Sword
Released April 1, 2008
(release history)
Recorded 2007 at Folkvang Studios and Premium Recording, Austin, Texas
Genre Heavy metal, doom metal, stoner metal
Length 47:59
Label Kemado
Producer J. D. Cronise
The Sword chronology

The Sword/Witchcraft split
(2007)		 Gods of the Earth
(2008)		 iTunes Festival: London 2010 - EP
(2010)
Singles from Gods of the Earth
  1. "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians"
    Released: March 18, 2008 (US only)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

Gods of the Earth is the second studio album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released in the United States on April 1, 2008.[3] It gave the band their first experience of commercial success when it peaked at #102 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4] The single released from the album was "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians",[5] which did not chart. Gods of the Earth was later re-released as part of a two-disc box set with Age of Winters on November 25, 2008.[3][6] Their track "The Black River" was featured in the game Guitar Hero: Metallica, released in March 2009. "Maiden, Mother & Crone" is featured in Guitar Hero 5, released in September 2009.

Track listing

All lyrics written by J. D. Cronise; all music composed by The Sword.

No. Title Length
1. "The Sundering"   2:04
2. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter"   5:02
3. "How Heavy This Axe"   3:05
4. "Lords"   4:57
5. "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians"   3:28
6. "To Take the Black"   4:40
7. "Maiden, Mother & Crone"   3:59
8. "Under the Boughs"   4:57
9. "The Black River"   5:53
10. "The White Sea" (Instrumental) 7:22
11. Untitled (Instrumental hidden track) 2:23

Lyrics

Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River". "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's Watch in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, while "Maiden, Mother & Crone" is a reference to the Faith of the Seven in the same series.[7]

Personnel

The Sword
Additional personnel

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
Europe March 31, 2008 Kemado Records CD album KEM 073[8]
United States April 1, 2008 Kemado Records CD album KEM 071[3]
LP album KEM 072[3]
Australia May 24, 2008 Impedance Records CD album IMP 006[9]
Japan June 11, 2008 Toy's Factory Records CD album TFCK-87438[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Gods of the Earth". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  2. ↑ "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Sword". Kemado Records. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  4. ↑ "Artist Chart History - The Sword". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  5. ↑ "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyria > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  6. ↑ "The Sword: Release Limited Edition Box Set". Sonic Dice. 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  7. ↑ Ziemke, Mark (March 4, 2008). "The Sword are Gods of the Earth". Ground Control. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  8. ↑ "The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (CD/Europe)". The Sword. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  9. ↑ "The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (CD/Australia)". The Sword. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  10. ↑ "The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (CD/Japan)". The Sword. Retrieved 2008-11-26.