Last Week Around the -ISTs
Schieffer's Out of Gov Race
![True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/01/nightskyline-thumb-110x110-53663.jpg)
True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]
One of Austin’s finest metal acts, The Sword builds on the promise of their debut Age of Winters with its sophomore effort Gods of the Earth. GOTE begins softly enough with the intro to “The Sundering,” but before one can have any misgivings, a crunching riff takes over and ignites what’s to come for the next 45 minutes. Sure, there are requisite song titles like “Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians” and suitable lyrics such as “The gates of the keeps are all closing / And the broken men wander the roads / the farmers have fled to the forests / burning their fields as they go” (“Lords”) -- necessary tidbits that complete the Sword experience, but the heart of the content is in the thunderous rock, insistent riffs, and raw energy. The Sword is scheduled to open for Metallica in Europe come July but not before a set at the Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival in June. The band kicked off its current U.S. tour earlier this month. A must for fans of Black Sabbath and even later metal giants like Megadeth and Iron Maiden, GOTE is a full throttle assault on the listener’s ears with inventive, dueling guitars; distant howls of “greater mysteries” and “the faery queen’s armies”; and a general atmosphere of sludgy heaviness.
Miss Clarissa Ysel’s piano powered melodies and Miss Naomi Cherie’s yearning violin flourishes emphasize the scores of Texan outfit Southern Drama, not to be confused with the California act with the same name. During their early days as a team, Ysel and Cherie found a fan in the late great Clifford Antone who provided ample encouragement along with sound advice (pun intended) to help Southern Drama continue on its musical journey. Eventually, Mister Gary Delgado was invited to join the squad, taking on bassist and drummer duties as needed with contributions from Mister Danny Hinojosa and Mister Steven Reyes completing the soft soundscapes concocted by the band.
Their debut record Little Broken kicks off with “Lightswitch” which turns us on to Ysel’s sultry voice and has us snapping our fingers to the beat in hope that the next snap will magically transport us to a cocktail lounge in some era, be it bygone or contemporary. Cherie’s violin accentuations arrive appropriately to garnish “Candlelight Blues” before expertly maintaining the alternating melancholy and gusto in “A Killer Waltz On The Ice.” Not to be outdone, Ysel’s soothing vocal delivery in “Sour Is The Day” along with equally comforting, soft piano strains actually sweetened our day. The tempo picks up with “Blood Red” and “Ghost Town Blues” -- more finger snapping, toe tapping ditties that would encourage the patrons of any lounge to make their way to the dance floor. “The End Of The World” (along with the “Hidden Track”) quietly eases us out of Southern Drama, back into the 21st century show that is our everyday life. Largely, Southern Drama conjures up easy-on-the-ears melodies that take turns to appease and invigorate. Most tracks could be the soundtrack to our hazy daydreams although quite a few cause one to long for a night out on the town. Not surprisingly, the duo of Ysel and Cherie have an inherent interest in directing short films and plan to release a series of music videos to accompany Little Broken, many of those already in the works.
Southern Drama: [MySpace]
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