The Sword plays a steamy night at the Gothic Theatre celebrating 15 years of Warp Riders

By DaveThePhotoGuy | Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO – 08/19/2025

As I get older, the list of anniversary tours keeps growing. The art of celebrating milestones from the bands of my youth is proof that I’m turning into an ‘old school’ rocker. In my 20’s, I hated 1980’s ‘glam metal’ bands (bands like Skid Row, Whitesnake, Warrant, Ratt) because, in my opinion, the music didn’t hold up as ‘timeless’. Glam rock had an expiration date. Case-in-point: Every time I’ve attended shows from a 1980’s glam rock band at the Gothic, I’ve noticed a dwindling crowd of people in their 50’s and 60’s without much crossover into a younger generation of fans. 

On the contrary, Alt Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands from my generation (90’s and early-2000’s) are still finding new fans. Who knows, maybe I’m biased. This is evidenced by fans aged from 15 to 65 that lined the front rail for this freshly reunited band. The Sword continues to garner widespread acclaim thanks to their timeless sound that transports listeners of all ages to their world of scifi-based lyrics. This particular tour marked a 15-year celebration of the band’s third album Warp Riders, which topped out at a surprising #42 on Billboard’s 200 chart. While The Sword’s Apocryphon (2012) peaked at #17 on the same chart, many consider Warp Riders as the band’s breakthrough album that set the table for the commercial and critical success of their fourth album.

Not long ago, the future of The Sword was in doubt after a brief and under-explained break-up in 2022.

In a heartbreaking announcement, the band seemingly ended their journey after frontman John Cronise (basically) said he’d reached the end of his creativity with the band. Thankfully, he came to his senses and the band reunited in 2024. With the anniversary tours for Warp Riders’ 15-year (2010) and High Country‘s 10-year (2015) anniversaries, as well as the upcoming 20th anniversary tour on the horizon for their first album Age of Winters (2006), it’s possible the opportunity to celebrate these albums, and the financial windfall to cash in on the milestones, was too hard to turn down.

Denver/Boulder-based Pink Fuzz, featuring brother/sister duo John and Lulu Demitro, opened the sold out show. Their last name may be familiar for anyone following the up-and-coming Denver/Boulder-market bands; their sister is none other than The Velveteers‘ frontwoman and resident shredder Demi Demitro. Their pairing with The Sword on tour is a natural fit and they delivered a hellacious set. Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol picked up where Pink Fuzz left off in the 2 slot and turned it up a notch. In a hard-to-define sub-sub-genre that some refer to as ‘sludge-core’, this band is raising eyebrows with their solid performances. Earlier deemed the “Summer of Turnstile“, ‘hardcore’ seems to be a buzzword the hipster-metal gatekeepers are throwing around right now. Based on their set, it’s impossible to define Rickshaw as purely hardcore. It really doesn’t matter, though, since there are an infinite number of bands with an infinite list of genres and sub-genres. Regardless, their set was exactly the punch the crowd needed and set the tone for a great mosh pit that continued through the night.

Still loving absolutely everything about The Sword’s vintage-inspired backdrop harkening the logo used on the Warp Riders album cover, an excitement built for the live return to this epic album. The Sword came out and immediately hit the crowd with How Heavy This Axe from their second album Gods of the Earth (2008), and how heavy the axes were! The guitar tones are so warm and powerful, it simply ‘hit the spot’. You’re unable to claim you’ve experienced The Sword until you’ve seen them live, which is exactly why their breakup was such a punch to the gut. Feeling the bass ripping through your clothing and into your chest, feeling the guitars cut through the air, their sound is so on-brand and consistent from show-to-show, year-to-year, their fans are accustomed to nothing but excellence.

The Gothic Theatre was running hot and humid and packed wall-to-wall, front-to-back with an overpowering smell of sweaty stoner rock fans.

Thick air and tight spaces made it rather hard to catch your breath inside the historic theater, even when trying to escape to the lobby for a few minutes. The only oxygen I seemed to find was in the ‘fresh air’ smokers section outside the venue. The Gothic’s no re-entry is such a bitch move these days, considering it’s a power play for the bar sales, especially when your venue is stupid-hot. Most other promoters have figured out how to use wristbands or stamps for 21+. Not every fan wants to be forced into second-hand smoking everyone else’s cigarettes just to get a breath of fresh air. With that being said, maybe I’m just too old to enjoy a steamy show these days. The kids and 20-somethings didn’t have a problem crowd surfing and throwing down in the mosh pit. So yeah, maybe it’s just me.

After playing 5 songs from their non-Warp Riders catalog, they capped it off with a down-tuned cover of David Bowie‘s “Space Oddity“. The Sword then dove into the 15-year-old Warp Riders tracks. Having attended many shows from the Austin-based band, it was relieving to hear their short breakup didn’t take anything away from their stellar performances. They haven’t missed a beat. The front-of-house engineer filled the venue better than I’d heard the room sound in years. His range of crystal clear high frequencies and full bass tones was masterful. Sound-wise, this was a top-10 show in this room dating back to my first coverage of the venue in 2005. My only production complaint was the lighting engineer, and perhaps it’s an unfair criticism. The lighting production was very lackluster, random, and in no way cohesive to the music or performance. Usually, this happens when the house lighting director is operating the controls vs. a touring LD, and if that was the case, no harm/no foul. If the LD was, in fact, a touring crew member, I would advise replacing him with someone that feels the music and able to translate it into great lighting.

Admittedly, the performance felt like more of the same from The Sword. That’s not a knock, it’s a compliment and testament to the sound they’ve created. I compare their signature sound to a visual of a herd of buffalo stampeding off of a cliff. John, Kyle, Bryan, and Jimmy should all take pride in creating a brand that is recognizable and unique while still being tuned-in to the stoner rock genre. Side note: the crossover from Clutch & Sleep fans is unmistakable as I saw dozens of fans wearing their shirts. The Sword has a community, and their ashram is the stage. Until next time…

Setlist:

How Heavy This Axe
Cloak of Feathers
Empty Temples
Buzzards
Sea of Green
Space Oddity (David Bowie Cover)

Warp Riders revisited:
Acheron / Unearthing the Orb
Tres Brujas
Arrows in the Dark
The Chronomancer I: Hubris
Lawless Lands
Astraea’s Dream
The Warp Riders
Night City
The Chronomancer II: Nemesis
(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire

Encore:
Farstar
Daughter of Dawn
Freya