Gods of the Earth

Gods of the Earth is the second studio album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released in Europe on March 31, 2008, and in the United States on April 1.[3] It gave the band their first experience of commercial success when it peaked at #102 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4] The single released from the album was "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians",[5] which did not chart. Gods of the Earth was later re-released as part of a two-disc box set with Age of Winters on November 25, 2008.[3][6] Their track "The Black River" was featured in the game Guitar Hero: Metallica, released in March 2009. "Maiden, Mother & Crone" is featured in Guitar Hero 5, released in September 2009.

Gods of the Earth
Studio album by The Sword
Released	March 31, 2008 (release history)
Recorded	2007 at Folkvang Studios and Premium Recording, Austin, Texas
Genre	Heavy metal, doom metal, stoner rock
Length	47:59
Label	Kemado
Producer	J. D. Cronise
The Sword chronology
The Sword/Witchcraft split (2007) Gods of the Earth (2008) Warp Riders (2010)
Singles from Gods of the Earth
"Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians" Released: March 18, 2008 (US only)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Track listing

All lyrics written by J. D. Cronise; all music composed by The Sword.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Sundering" (Instrumental)	2:04
2.	"The Frost-Giant's Daughter"	5:02
3.	"How Heavy This Axe"	3:05
4.	"Lords"	4:57
5.	"Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians"	3:28
6.	"To Take the Black"	4:40
7.	"Maiden, Mother & Crone"	3:59
8.	"Under the Boughs"	4:57
9.	"The Black River"	5:53
10.	"The White Sea" (Instrumental)	7:22
11.	Untitled (Instrumental hidden track)	2:23

Australian edition

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings" (ZZ Top cover)
13.	"The White Sea" (Live instrumental)

Japanese edition

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Sea of Spears"	4:46
13.	"To Take the Black" (Live)	4:38
14.	"He's Waiting" (The Sonics cover)	1:55

Lyrics

Several songs reference Conan the Barbarian stories by fantasy author Robert E. Howard. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is based on Howard's short story by the same name and "The Black River" was inspired by "Beyond the Black River", while "How Heavy This Axe" makes references to Howard's fictional Hyborian Age. "To Take the Black" is a direct reference to the Night's Watch in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, while "Maiden, Mother & Crone" is a reference to the Faith of the Seven in the same series.[7]

Personnel

The Sword

• J. D. Cronise – vocals, guitar, production, mixing
• Kyle Shutt – guitar, mixing
• Bryan Richie – bass, engineering, mixing
• Trivett Wingo – drums, percussion, mixing

Additional personnel

• Andrew Hernandez – engineering, mixing
• J. J. Golden – mastering
• Geoff Kern – artwork, design

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Europe	March 31, 2008	Kemado Records	CD album	KEM 073[8]
United States	April 1, 2008	Kemado Records	CD album	KEM 071[3]
			LP album	KEM 072[3]
Australia	May 24, 2008	Impedance Records	CD album	IMP 006[9]
Japan	June 11, 2008	Toy's Factory Records	CD album	TFCK-87438[10]

References

1. "Gods of the Earth". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
2. "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
3. "The Sword". Kemado Records. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
4. "Artist Chart History - The Sword". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
5. "Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyria > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
6. "The Sword: Release Limited Edition Box Set". Sonic Dice. 2008-11-21. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
7. Ziemke, Mark (March 4, 2008). "The Sword are Gods of the Earth". Ground Control. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
8. "The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (CD/Europe)". The Sword. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
9. "The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (CD/Australia)". The Sword. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
10. "The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (CD/Japan)". The Sword. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-26.