"Gods Of The Earth" - The Sword

I have anticipated this album for a LONG time. I actually got it on Saturday, somehow. For true fans of The Sword, this is no let-down. At times, the vocals are actually better and more lively, and the rare guitar solos that lasted about two measures have returned with greater strength, although still only about twice as long. There are more pinch harmonics too, but not an obnoxious amount like you get with Bang Camaro. But everything you ever loved about The Sword is still there, and nothing that has been added takes away from the best qualities that attracted you to them. The lyrics are still epic as hell, and still good enough that they don't totally make you want to throw up (for such epic lyrics, see Manowar). J.D. and Kyle riff it up like no one since Iommi, setting new standards with every stroke of their picks, Bryan provides the deepest, strongest foundations that make you visualize mountains, and Trivett's every fill blows your mind with speed and power. Now for the track-by-track breakdown:

1. The Sundering (2:05) - Much like Celestial Crown from the first album, this opening track is a short instrumental. However, it begins with a simple acoustic riff that later transitions into a crushing distorted one that later gives way to a slightly uncharacteristic guitar solo. Great opener.
2. The Frost-Giant's Daughter (5:04) - A pretty good song; certainly not among the top tracks of the album.
3. How Heavy This Axe (3:06) - This is one of the gems of the album--I don't know why it wasn't the single instead of Fire Lances. Basically, it has killer riffs and rousing vocal melodies during the chorus: the epitome of a good hard rock song.
4. Lords (4:58) - This song begins with a guitar riff that sounds like it should be the violin part of a Flogging Molly song, but slips into classic Sword riffage and warning lyrics.
5. Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians (3:28) - Very good, with some of the hardest riffs on the album. Very forceful drumming.
6. To Take The Black (4:41) - Another one of the best songs on the album. Begins clean, and then produces some of the album's best riffs, as J.D. sings about the wild and dangerous "life on the wall".
7. Maiden, Mother, & Crone (4:00) - This track is outstanding as well: apart from mind-blowing guitars, it has great vocals and some of the most poetic and cryptic lyrics by The Sword; you'd expect to find such text in the Icelandic Eddas or the ancient writings of Homer.
8. Under The Boughs (4:57) - You might know this song if you bought that "Invaders" mix CD from Kemado Records with a lot of NWOARM on it. It starts out with a riff that I might actually call stupid, but the rest of the song makes up for it. It's ok.
9. The Black River(5:53) - This song is classic Sword. That's all I have to say.
10. The White Sea (7:23) - This electric instrumental is basically just an output for The Sword's endless flow of amazing riffs, along with several parts containing rare (although less so on this album) lead guitar lines.
11. -untitled bonus track- (2:18) - A great, Medieval-sounding acoustic instrumental. If you like any kind of Celtic music, this song is great. The riff is taken from To Take The Black.