Early Man, The Sword reviewed

Early Man, The Sword
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Saturday, March 4, 2006

Two of the most hyped bands in metal rolled into town on one bill and attempted to answer one question: Can we depend on the likes of Spin and MTV for the next big thing(s) in metal?

For a vocalist/guitarist/mastermind in a band being mentioned everywhere from metal fanzines and Web sites all the way to a MTV “You Hear It First” segment and raves from Spin, The Sword’s J.D. Cronise was rather unassuming as he took the stage at Empty Bottle, briefly saying hello before beginning “Iron Swan” from the recently released Age Of Winter. It was easy to see why those outside of metal had latched onto the band: with their (Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, drummer Trivett Wingo, and bassist Bryan Richie) shaggy hair, blue jeans, and clinging T-shirts, they looked like any number of indie rock darlings.

But the heavy-handed riff and swords-and-sorcery theme of “Barael’s Blade” wasn’t Death Cab For Cutie stuff. Iommi-school-of-riffing songs like “Freya” displayed Cronise’s debt to Black Sabbath, putting his band in the same category as other “retro-metal” leaders like High On Fire and Mastodon. But it’s the degree of worship that separates The Sword, for better or worse. Matt Pike and co. often cross the line into far more extreme territories, and Mastodon love the twisting paths of prog rock. But The Sword, more than anything, crave that pure Sabbath sound, and damn if their arrows weren’t grazing the target on the doom-drenched “Winter’s Wolves” and menacing set-closer “Ebethron.”

Headliners Early Man have also received their share of acclaim for their debut, Closing In, which, maybe as further proof of metal’s new found “coolness” was released on Matador Records — home to do-no-wrong indie acts like The New Pornographers and Cat Power. Led by frontman/guitarist Matt Conte, these dudes looked (black shirts, pants, long hair), played (flying Vs, dual-guitar harmonies), and we can only imagine smelled (judging by the greasy hair and sweaty faces) like metal dudes. While honoring Sabbath is popular among new metal bands, Early Man are more concerned with ’80s thrash and the NWOBHM that influenced it. The galloping percussion of “Feeding Frenzy,” the guitar interplay of “Thrill Of The Kill,” and the precision of “Raped And Pillaged” harkened back to Overkill, early Metallica, and even How Will I Laugh-era Suicidal Tendencies. “Closing In” and “War Eagle,” while lacking the backup vocals and intricate guitar solos of the their influences, were certainly proficient — packing a lot of wallop into only a few minutes.

Early Man aren’t putting a new spin on thrash, but maybe that’s the beauty of the group. Bands like Shadows Fall and Lamb Of God teas us, but too often are hardcore bands armed with a few Testament licks. It’s been too long since someone sounded like Metallica and Megadeth — even longer since Metallica and Megadeth sounded like Metallica and Megadeth — that Early Man and songs like “Fist Shaker” and “Evil Is” (Conte doing his best Hetfield) sounded so fucking refreshing.

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly