RollingStone.com recently asked METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich to name his favorite album of 2008. "We're fortunate to have this heavy-metal band from Austin out playing with us, and we've got them playing shows on our days off so that we can go see them," he responded. "I'm a product of British metal — IRON MAIDEN, SAXON, ANGEL WITCH — and THE SWORD sound like the definitive new wave of British heavy metal, which is interesting coming from four guys from Texas. The arrangements, the intros and outros, the middle eights and that type of stuff, it reminds me of DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH or JUDAS PRIEST. They're not really a young METALLICA, but that's because they're cooler than we were."

"How Heavy this Axe", the new video from THE SWORD, can be viewed below. The kaleidoscopic clip pays homage to the classic BLACK SABBATH videos "Paranoid" and "Iron Man".

THE SWORD's latest album, "Gods of the Earth", was released on April 1, 2008 via Kemado Records. The follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed debut "Age of Winters" was recorded at Folkvang Studios in Austin, TX, and is said to be "more ambitious, more accomplished and simply bigger."

On November 25, Austin, THE SWORD released a limited-edition CD set that includes both "Age Of Winters" and "Gods Of The Earth" albums. This special package was made available at all of the band's live shows (both headlining and METALLICA support dates) as well as on Amazon at this location.