The Resurrection of Sword | The Press

It is first the story of a box of cassettes, found by Rick Hughes. “One day, Rick came to us with this box, full of old demos,” says guitarist Mike Plant, his partner in Sword, who is releasing his first album in nearly 35 years.

The magic of the internet. In the early 2010s, by putting Sword’s Facebook page online, the members of the group measured for the first time the extent of its pool of fansnot only in Quebec, but all over the world, an impact far beyond what their past success allowed them to imagine.

A few return concerts, including one at the Keep it True Fest in Lauda-Königshofen in Germany, quickly convinced them that it would be sad to stick to a few one-night stands.

A major formation in the genesis of Quebec metal, Sword offered countless unforgettable evenings during the 1980s at La Moustache, a defunct metal bar in Montreal (not far from the old Forum). Metalized (1986), his first album, borrows his sense of unifying refrain from 1970s hard rock, the agility of his solos from the new wave of English heavy metal and certain more explosive salvos from American thrash metal.

The most famous thrash metal band of all time, Metallica, will also personally invite Sword to join the caravan of their tour Damage, Inc.for five Quebec dates (including Chicoutimi, Rimouski and Victoriaville) in the cold of December 1986.

Legend has it that during an interview he granted to the editor of the magazine Kerrang!, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich asked him what he was listening to these days, pointing to his walkman. The journalist simply handed him the tape that was there… that of Sword.

In 1987, Quebecers once again rubbed shoulders with rock titans during an English tour of some twenty dates in the company of Motörhead. How did Lemmy, the man next to whom Keith Richards’ lifestyle was that of a cloistered monk, treat them? “Lemmy was like an uncle,” recalls Mike Plant. He told us: ‘If there is a problem, don’t go to the tour manager, come to me directly.” »

“When we got to the Hammersmith Odeon [salle mythique de Londres] at the end of the tour, connects Rick Hughes, a third group [Gaye Bykers on Acid] had been added to the evening and he had put him between Motörhead and us… I immediately went to have Lemmy in his dressing room, telling him that we wanted to open for Motörhead, not open for the first part. He said to me: “You’re right” and they reswitched that. Lemmy was elegance incarnate. »

The same four guys

By puncturing its most electrifying elements from its old unreleased demos found on cassettes, Sword finally adds a third album to its brief discography, without mismatching it, on the contrary. “We took what was good in there and refurnished around it,” says Mike Plant.

While several of his counterparts struggle as they age to access the register of their youth, and must thus give up the vocal fireworks with which they punctuated their refrains, Rick Hughes deploys his organ even more on III than during the group’s first incarnation. He remains a worthy heir to Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio.

“If we didn’t have Rick, we couldn’t do that,” summarizes Mike Plant, about his comrade, who takes good care of his voice.

“But Mike also shines as a tabarouette on this album,” adds the singer, who is easy to agree with, his solo in (I Am) In Kommand being in itself a swift guitar masterclass.

Rick was on the eve of coming of age when Mike Plant, a childhood friend, came to jam in the parental basement of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, where his brother Dan’s drums were installed. Bassist Mike Larock would soon be invited by Plant. But after running into a few pitfalls typical of the marvelous world of rock—poor management choices, widespread disenchantment, the emergence of a new musical genre (grunge, in this case)—Sword disbanded in the early 1990s. 1990.

“Look what a lucky guy I am: my first real band, it was Sword! says Rick Hughes. I wasn’t even 18! And I’m still here, with the same guys. How old are they today? “It’s none of your business,” Plant replies with his big, smirk.

” 1986 in Montreal/Smocking chicks and free for all/In our twenties, ready to brawl/Not much money but lots of balls », sings Rick Hughes in the autobiographical Unleashing Hell. “At that time, we were ready to take on the world,” says Plant. Rather, they will have conquered the years, not a slim consolation prize.

Metal

III

Sword

Massacre Records