Austin, Texas's own The Sword brought us one of the great Doom albums of 2006. With "Age Of Winters" now firmly entrenched in everyone's psyche they now head to Europe alongside Clutch. We spoke with main-man J.D to get to know the men behind The Sword.  

Hi guys, how is everything in The Sword camp. For those out there that have yet to experience The Sword, how do you best describe the band and your sound?

I prefer to leave that to others, but I'll describe us as heavy metal rock n' roll.

Very well I'd say. Most of the reviews I've seen have been positive. People that come to our shows seem to like it a lot, but I suppose that's sort of a given.

The album was produced by yourself and engineered by bassist Brian. Was it difficult to be on both sides of the recording booth, I mean to have the artist creativity while keeping the focus needed to produce a record?

It wasn't difficult in that way at all. My job is to make The Sword sound how it's supposed to, so it's natural for me to be involved in the recording process beyond playing my instrument. I don't really enjoy playing in the studio anyway. I'm too sloppy.

It can be fun at times, but mostly it's a required part of being in a band. Playing live is really the point of it all.

Released via Kemado Records, how did you get signed? How is the deal working out for you guys?

Kemado heard our demo and they were way into it. They made us a good offer and we accepted. So far it's working out fine.

"Age Of Winters" features the beautiful album art of Conrad Keely, and for anyone who has not seen the album the cover is stunning. How did you guys hook up with Conrad? Where you pleased with the end result?

He's also from Austin, so I've known him for a while. Trail of Dead took us out on a U.S. tour with them a few years ago, during which Conrad offered to do our album cover. He outlined his concept, and it sounded good to us. We're very pleased with it, though the main figure was much more conservatively clothed in Conrad's initial description. I think it's a very distinctive cover.

Since the release of the album the band's exposure has been steadily increasing, to the point now where the name The Sword are on the lips of most Metal fans. Did you ever expect this level of response to the album? With this level of exposure, do you feel there is now a level of expectation for the band to live up to?

I did not expect this level of response at all, honestly. It's a rather strange thing in many ways. The only expectations we care about living up to are our own. We have to like what we're doing or it's not worth it.

Have you guys had any opportunity to begin work on new material? When do you anticipate heading back into the studio?

The band is about to imminently hit the road in the US with Priestbird and Year Long Disaster. Then you're heading to Europe in support of Clutch. It's quite a grueling schedule, is touring something you guys enjoy?

Playing live is something I enjoy, so touring sort of comes with the territory. And something's gotta pay the rent. However, I am looking forward to the Clutch tour quite a bit. They are one of my favorite current bands, and I'm excited about returning to Europe.

In a way it does. While we don't solely deal with the subject, it is prominent. Our songs may frame things in fantastic imagery, but they're not all fantasy. The age we live in seems appropriate for Doom metal to me.

Someone wrote it or said it at some point, and others repeated it for some reason. I have no idea what it means. Wouldn't that label go to Dangerous Toys by default anyway?