''Age of Winters'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band

The Sword The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its t ...

, released in the United States on February 14, 2006. The Japanese edition, released by record label

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. Toy's Factory, as of the first half of 2012, is the four ...

, contains three bonus tracks recorded live at the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

club in New York City on April 9, 2006. The

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released from the album was "

Freya In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

", which did not chart. ''Age of Winters'' was later reissued as part of a two-disc box set with ''

Gods of the Earth ''Gods of the Earth'' is the second studio album by American doom metal band The Sword, released in Europe on March 31, 2008, and in the United States on April 1. It gave the band their first experience of commercial success when it peaked at #10 ...

'' on November 25, 2008.

Reception

The Sword's debut album received a widely positive critical reaction. Reviewing for music website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, critic Eduardo Rivadavia awarded ''Age of Winters'' 4.5 out of 5 rating stars, qualifying it as an "AMG Album Pick". In the review, Rivadavia claims that the band's debut record "sees them joining California's

High on Fire High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Per ...

, Sweden's

Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

, and Australia's

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

(to name but a few) at the forefront of what's gradually become known in the mid-'00s as the "heritage" or "retro-metal" movement." He goes on to suggest that "the album's main attraction sits megalithic guitar work," concluding that "Age of Winters provides ..listeners with as good an entryway as any into the "retro-metal" universe, while also managing to sound refreshing even to calloused heavy metal ears," which, he suggests, "is no small achievement." Other reviews of ''Age of Winters'' were similarly positive – webzine

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

, awarded the album a favorable rating of seven out of ten, describing it as "one fine, headbang-inducing beast of a debut record," while ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' summarised the album as "literate" and "visceral".

In popular culture

" appears as a playable song in ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series and is the sequel to 2005's ...

'' and ''

Guitar Hero Smash Hits ''Guitar Hero Smash Hits'' (titled ''Guitar Hero Greatest Hits'' in Europe and Australia) is a Music video game, music rhythm game and the fourth expansion pack, expansion game to the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game features 48 so ...

''. as well as the soundtrack of ''

Burnout Dominator ''Burnout Dominator'' is a racing video game developed by EA UK and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. It retains the core gameplay of the series, as players race at top speeds through dozens of World Tour ev ...

'', and '' Wayne''. "Barael's Blade" was used in the season five ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'' episode "

Rapture's Delight "Rapture's Delight" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''American Dad!''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 13, 2009. This episode centers around Stan and Francine's life a ...

". "Celestial Crown" is featured on the ''

Jennifer's Body ''Jennifer's Body'' is a 2009 American horror-comedy film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a demonically possessed high school girl ...

'' soundtrack. "Iron Swan" appears in the 2006 video game ''

Tony Hawk's Project 8 ''Tony Hawk's Project 8'' is a skateboarding video game and the eighth installment in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in November 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, an ...

'' and also appears in season nine ''

'' episode "

Minstrel Krampus "Minstrel Krampus" is the eighth episode of the ninth season and the 160th overall episode of the animated comedy series '' American Dad!''. It aired on Fox in the United States on December 15, 2013, and is written by Murray Miller and Judah M ...

Track listing

Personnel

;The Sword * J. D. Cronise –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing * Kyle Shutt – guitars, mixing * Bryan Richie –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing * Trivett Wingo –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, mixing ;Additional personnel * Mike Groener – additional vocal engineering * Rick Essig – mastering *

Conrad Keely Conrad Keely (born 15 May 1972) is a musician, artist, and writer known primarily as the lead singer for the American rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Background Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England of Irish and Thai d ...

–

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Age Of Winters The Sword albums 2006 debut albums