Warp Riders

Warp Riders is the third studio album by American heavy metal band The Sword. Recorded at Wire Recording in Austin, Texas with producer Matt Bayles, it was released by Kemado Records in August 2010. Warp Riders was written and recorded as a concept album centred on an original science fiction narrative written by vocalist and guitarist John Cronise, and marks a conscious change in style from doom metal to a more hard rock-influenced sound.

The Sword’s third album is the first by the band to be produced by someone other than frontman Cronise, who handled production duties on Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth. It was also the last album to feature original drummer Trivett Wingo, who left the band in October 2010 early into the promotional tour for the record, citing physical and mental exhaustion. The album was also the group’s last to be released under their deal with Kemado Records, before signing with Razor & Tie in 2012.

The lead single from Warp Riders was “Tres Brujas”, which was released as a digital download in July 2010. The song is also featured as the first in a trilogy of music videos to promote the album, which also includes “Lawless Lands” and “Night City”. The second single from the album is “(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire”, released in November 2010. Warp Riders was a relative commercial success, peaking at number 42 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and the album was promoted on the Warp Riders Tour starting in November 2010.