The Sword - Gods of the Earth

Gods of the Earth (2008, Kemado) The Sword's second studio album. **1/2

Let's get one thing on the table; most metal is shit. Black Sabbath went as heavy as it should have gone, and anything beyond that is simply unlistenable. The Sword are fortunate to a degree, they only push the mark a tad harder than Black Sabbath, but with less result. The twin lead vocals are boring and the unrelenting heaviness and volume make it difficult to sit through in one listen. Such was more the case on their self-titled debut, but here things are a bit cleaner. Gods of the Earth is, all in all, a more formulaic attempt, and while none of their material - from either release - is painstakingly awful, none of it is new. Everything they say has been said better, everything they play has been played better, every riff they create has been done in a more captivating way. I can't say I disliked Gods of the Earth, in fact, I didn't mind it at all. As far as metal goes, they should be considered heroes. From an objective standpoint, though, the Sword have brought nothing new to the table. Nothing.