Heavy Metal Hipsters

Metal bands and the mainstream music press have long had an uneasy alignment. Obviously the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden have transcended the genre and have few such obstacles. But even those mid-tier heavy acts deemed worthy of approval will still often be afforded back-handed compliments; one publication once insinuated that Mastodon's Crack The Skye masterpiece was well-conceived – “for a metal band”. Irrespective, the likes of Mastodon, Baroness and Texas heavy metal/doom/stoner troupe The Sword have received wider acceptance outside the metal media's realm. So much so that it's led some cynics to label them (only partially in jest) with ludicrous tags such as “hipster metal”.

When the subject is raised, The Sword's vocalist/guitarist JD Cronise has a sense of humour about it. “Those dudes are total hipsters, let me tell you,” he jokes when the example of Mastodon is used. “I think the term hipster metal is highly amusing. I think a lot of it has to do with people looking at us and hearing us… Our lyrics might occasionally involve words that they don't know; that they have to look up in the dictionary and I think there's a little bit of intimidation from the intelligence that is put into our music. It's not meat-head metal, it's not songs about, I don't know, whatever those bands write songs about.

“I think maybe it's a little of people seeing it and hearing it, and don't know what to make of it, because it's not the kind of dumbed-down thing they're used to, and it challenges them a little. So it's easy to throw some term that they see as derogatory at us, like hipster metal. But I never really thought being a hipster was necessarily a bad thing, you know? I think it's like the term 'liberal', like how it's used here in America. I don't know if it's the same down there, but here, people who are liberal have no problem calling themselves liberal. But then people that are conservative use that like it's a dirty word. I kinda feel the same way about a term like hipster metal. I consider myself pretty hip, I think I know what's cool and things like that, I don't necessarily consider that a bad thing,” he laughs. “But then the people that call us hipster metal do it with kind of a sneer, like that implies something negative about us. I think it's funny – I'm proud to be a pioneer of hipster metal.”

The initial response to new record (and fourth overall) Apocryphon seems to be continuing this trend of critical and fan acclaim from all corners. The band's previous effort, 2010's Warp Riders, was a less aggressive and more polished, but well-rounded work rooted around a dense, otherworldly concept story. This time the focus was on sharper, heavier songs which inflict their share of wounds but also retained the hook-laden approach of the past.

The frontman explains that there are common themes running throughout, but no grandiose, overarching tale. “Most of them were written within the same span of a few months. Usually it's a little bit more spread out than that. But they're all about different subjects, I would say. There are a lot more personal viewpoints, experiences and stuff like that on this record than on previous records, where most of the songs were just kind of stories basically, just creating vignettes or narratives about some kind of imaginary situation. On this record, a lot are a little bit more based in reality. Even though I still try to use, I still have the same lyrical style, but the subject matter is definitely different. There are a couple of songs about girls and not just goddesses, (although) there is one song about a goddess,” he chuckles. “But there are songs that have metaphysical themes to them; [there's] a song about pacifism versus militarism. It covers a lot of ground.”

Such was the artistic and critical success of Warp Riders, they're not ruling out tackling another concept record at some point. “As far as that kind of thing goes, with it almost being like a rock opera sort of thing with a story behind it and all that, that was a big challenge and it ended up being a little bit more work for me than I anticipated. To write this kind of evolved story, and then to write songs and lyrics about it, it was definitely a fun experiment. But we wanted to try to make this one a little less pressure on ourselves and just try to write songs, and let them just flow a little bit more. We didn't necessarily try to make it heavier. When we were recording it, I told J Robbins, the engineer and co-producer, to think of it like a Sasquatch. Think of this record like a Sasquatch, that it's supposed to be big and hairy and heavy, but mysterious at the same time. So I think we made a bit of a Sasquatch of a record,” he laughs.

“How I write is, I'll come up with riffs and just record little snippets of parts here and there. Then I'll go back through them and see if any of them kind of go together or have similar feels. Just kind of put them together. That's not always how it works; like Seven Sisters, that was kind of all written at once; lyrics, music and everything just all came very quickly. It wasn't really compiled that way. But a lot of the times they're a little bit Frankenstein monster-ish in the composition – putting together a lot of riffs and making them flow together. It all depends; every song comes about a little bit differently. The riffs that are no good, they don't make it into anything, they're still on my computer.”

To support the album, The Sword will have their second go-around on the mammoth Soundwave Festival, this time headed up by Metallica, who have taken them under their wing for extended bouts of touring in recent years. Cronise laments not being able to play any sideshows during their last stint on the festival after touring partners Saxon cancelled at the last minute, but is audibly enthused about the opportunity. “We're really looking forward to it and stoked that Metallica's headlining this year. Just can't wait to get down there, should be super good times.”

As with all of their endeavours though, they aren't placing unnecessary pressure on themselves, or setting any overly-ambitious aims to attain. “I'd love to go platinum and be able to buy a house, but I don't think that's gonna happen. Whatever comes, comes, and we're happy with the record. We were very satisfied with what we've done; we hope people respond to it, dig it and we're really looking forward to playing the songs live. We try not to have too many expectations or specific goals when it comes to stuff like that, we just kind of hope for the best.”

The Sword will be playing the following dates:

Saturday 23 February - Soundwave, Brisbane QLD
Sunday 24 February - Soundwave, Sydney NSW
Monday 25 February - Billboard, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 28 February - The Metro, Sydney NSW
Friday 1 March - Soundwave, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 2 March - Soundwave, Adelaide SA
Monday 4 March - Soundwave, Perth WA