At its most basic level, the band’s sound can be described as a more uptempo version of High on Fire. You won’t find much that is new or revolutionary on Age of Winter, just a high quality slab of doom metal. Some may cry foul at the blatant High on Fire worship but I figure that if a band decides to rip off another band, they could do much worse then to copy High on Fire. The Sword also bring a level of Mastodon-inspired intensity to the genre that is often lacking. The only weak point in the sound is the vocals. Though there are some nice harmonies on “The Horned Goddess,” for the most part the vocal work is forgettable. The vocals are low in the mix and sung in a disinterested manner. However, the vocal work does not detract from the album’s focus, which are massive guitar riffs and inspired drumming.

Things come together the best on “Winter’s Wolves,” an intense song that features a howling wolf towards the end, and “Lament for the Auroch,” an eight minute epic that pays homage to the auroch, an extinct ancestor of cows. In all, Age of Winters is an enjoyable doom metal romp. The Sword by no means reinvent the wheel on the album, but the album should still be enjoyable to most metalheads.

written by Scott Huffard

Playing time: 42.57