The Sword
Apocryphon

2006, "Age Of Winters" is released. A little gem, still considered today as the band's best album. A work that shook the underground metal scene, eventually allowing the four Texans to gradually make a name for themselves internationally. Now, six years after that CD and with "The Sword" having become a reference point in the new wave of doom/stoner, their fourth studio album, "Apocryphon," arrives.

Maybe too hastily labeled as the "new Black Sabbath," the four Texans have not been able to meet all the expectations they carried: the fact is that the new effort, while not representing anything transcendental, reaffirms a healthy band with a clear vision. The sound is that stoner/doom/heavy style that had drawn attention years ago: however, it must be said that the overall pull has veered more towards heavy metal than before. There's little doom left, except for "The Hidden Masters", which with its "acid" introduction stands out as one of the most successful tracks of the set. For the rest, "The Sword" stand on a more solid platform and the Shutt/Cronise duo brings out simple yet fitting riffs. Songs like the opening "The Veil Of Isis", "Cloak Of Feathers", and "Dying Earth" are the manifesto with which these Americans return to the scene, without forgetting that dense and "vintage" mood that has always set them apart.

What to say: "Apocryphon" is a work that pleases as long as one accepts the simplicity of its proposition and the lack of originality in its content. A professionally crafted album that will hardly be hailed as a masterpiece but can easily appeal to genre enthusiasts and those seeking dirty, acidic, and gritty sounds akin to seventies heavy.

1. "The Veil Of Isis" (5:33)
2. "Cloak Of Feathers" (5:25)
3. "Arcane Montane" (4:06)
4. "The Hidden Masters" (4:49)
5. "Dying Earth" (5:21)
6. "Execrator" (2:47)
7. "Seven Sisters" (3:30)
8. "Hawks And Serpents" (4:31)
9. "Eyes Of The Stormwitch" (3:12)
10. "Apocryphon" (4:58)