Look sharp

Last time I saw doom rockers The Sword, the old Capital was still around and they were on tour with fellow Austinites ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and The Octopus Project (it was a city-focused lineup). I was mighty impressed with them then, and picked up their debut EP. I haven't been as thrilled by their latest output, but was pushed into heading out to Ritual by the presence of Royal Thunder, a band whose music I really enjoy. They put on a high energy performance opening things up. Here's former Zoroaster guitarist Will Fiore bringing some extra beard to the occasion.



Mlny Parsonz sings!



Josh Waever rocks the Yamaha.



Thunderous action!



Evan DiPrima hits!



Fringed action!



Bonus Will!



Rhythm section action!



More Josh!



Extra Evan!



On to The Sword; they played a solid set for a very enthusiastic crowd. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many metal and hard rock fans came out on a Monday night; I suppose it also goes to show that they've become a lot bigger than I thought they had. Here's frontman John Cronise.



Bryan Richie sings!



Bonus John!



Kyle sings!



Guitar action!



Extra Bryan!



Singalong action!



The Sword have gone through a couple of drummers since I saw them, Jimmy Vela is the latest.



Even more guitar action!



More Kyle!



A cool evening out.