Sword is a Canadian heavy metal band from

Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River just east of Montreal. It lies on the west flank of Mont Saint-Bruno, one of the Monteregian Hills. Th ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, that was formed in 1981 and is still active to this day. To date, they have released two studio albums and are scheduled to release a third one in November 2022.

History

In 1981, south of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in Saint Bruno de Montarville,

, Rick (vocals) and Dan Hughes (drums) formed a heavy metal band called Sword. They were joined by guitarist Mike Plant and bassist Mike Larocque in the first lineup of the band. They signed their first commercial contract in 1984 with Aquarius Records. Sword released two albums for

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainme ...

in the late 1980s; the debut album '' Metalized'' in 1986"Sword Metalized (Re-issue)"
''Metal Temple'', by Grigoris Chronis at 06 March 2009 and its follow-up '' Sweet Dreams'' in 1988. They toured in the support slot for

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

, and the group opened for Metallica on their ''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last albu ...

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

in 1986. Rick Hughes also formed Saints & Sinners and released a self-titled album with them. In October 2006, Aquarius Records released '' The Best of Sword'' a compilation album. ''Metalized'' was re-issued in 2009. Throughout their career, Sword sold in excess of 180,000 albums. Sword has been more active since 2011 when they reunited for a show in Saguenay. They have since played various festivals in Canada and Germany. In 2016, they released ''Live Hammersmith'', recorded while they were on tour supporting Motörhead in 1987. Sword is expected to release their third studio album, and their first in 34 years, in the fall of 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Metalized'' (1986) *'' Sweet Dreams'' (1988) *'' III'' (2022)

Live albums

*''Live Hammersmith'' (2016)

Compilation albums

*'' The Best of Sword'' (2006)

Related information

In 2006, Rick Hughes released a solo album called ''Train d'enfer''. Mike Plant plays guitar for the band Porn Flakes.

References

External links

Rick Hughes websiteRoadrunner Records
{{Authority control Canadian heavy metal musical groups Musical groups from Quebec Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Musical groups established in 1981 1981 establishments in Quebec