Low Country (album)

Low Country
Compilation album by The Sword
Released September 23, 2016 (2016-09-23)
Recorded June–August 2015
Studio
Genre
Length 32:16
Label Razor & Tie
Producer Bryan Richie
The Sword chronology
High Country
(2015)		 Low Country
(2016)

Low Country is a compilation album by American hard rock band The Sword. Released on September 23, 2016 by Razor & Tie, it features stripped-down acoustic recordings of ten of the 15 songs from the band's 2015 fifth studio album High Country. The tracks were recorded between June and August 2015, shortly before the release of High Country, and produced by the band's bassist Bryan Richie.

Recording and production

After recording their fifth studio album High Country between March and April 2015,[1] The Sword recorded acoustic versions of ten of the album's 15 tracks at The Bend in Austin, Texas and The Berry in Taylor, Texas between June and August.[2] The recordings were produced by the band's bassist Bryan Richie and mixed at Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore, Maryland by J. Robbins, who also mixed High Country and had previously produced the band's 2012 fourth studio album Apocryphon.[3]

Promotion and release

Low Country was first announced on August 11, 2016, described in an official press release as "a stripped-down acoustic presentation of [High Country's] songs".[3] Following its release, the band supported the album with a number of tour dates in late September and throughout October, including a stint supporting Swedish heavy metal band Opeth and ten headline shows.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Austin Chronicle[6]
Metal Injection4/10[7]

Critical reception to Low Country was mixed. AllMusic's James Christopher Monger claimed that it "delivers on its promise of "The Sword: Unplugged," emitting its own curious current of intimacy, leaving the listener both transfixed and uneasy".[5] Monger highlighted tracks such as "Empty Temples" and "Mist & Shadow", but criticised "Seriously Mysterious" and "Ghost Eye" for feeling "a bit weightless".[5] Jeremy Ulrey for Metal Injection criticised many songs on the album in a track-by-track review, claiming that the album "mostly reaffirms that only about half of these songs bear any real heft to them at all", although he did praise the renditions of "Mist & Shadow", "Seriously Mysterious" and "Early Snow".[7] Michael Toland of The Austin Chronicle hailed the album for presenting "genuine creative advancement", in particular claiming that the acoustic format suited frontman John D. Cronise's vocals more than the band's regular style.[6]

Track listing

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

No. Title Length
1. "Unicorn Farm"   0:52
2. "Empty Temples"   3:53
3. "High Country"   3:05
4. "Mist & Shadow"   5:20
5. "Seriously Mysterious"   2:21
6. "Early Snow"   4:46
7. "The Dreamthieves"   3:52
8. "Buzzards"   2:41
9. "Ghost Eye"   2:14
10. "The Bees of Spring"   2:12

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "The Sword To Enter Studio In March". Blabbermouth.net. February 2, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ Low Country (Media notes). The Sword. Razor & Tie. 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The Sword Strips Down For 'Low Country' Album". Blabbermouth.net. August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ Childers, Chad (August 11, 2016). "The Sword Strip Back Songs With 'Low Country' Release". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Monger, James Christopher. "Low Country - The Sword: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Toland, Michael (September 23, 2016). "Review: The Sword - Low Country". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Ulrey, Jeremy (September 22, 2016). "The Sword's Low Country: A Track-by-Track Review". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
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