The Sword is the heavy metal outfit out of Austin, Texas comprised of lead singer and guitarist J.D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie, and drummer Trivett Wingo. The band has been selling the Sword tickets since its formation in 2003. Miraculously, this group has been able to survive and thrive without making a change to that lineup listed above, though Richie did not join until 2004.
Cronise decided to start the group after working by himself for a few years. He and Wingo had worked together previously in Ultimate Dragons and Shutt and Richie had worked together in a few bands in Texas. The Sword released its first EP, an eponymous work, in 2005. This led to an appearance at the 2006 South by Southwest music festival and a studio album in 2006.
The Sword released Age of Winter through Kemado on February 14, 2006. The album earned critical acclaim, or at least critical acceptance. This led to the Age of Winters Tour in 2006 and 2007. The Sword has released two more albums since and embarked on headlining tours habitually, whether or not they had an album to promote.
