LIVE: THE SWORD – Nashville, TN, USA – October 26, 2025

Venue: Brookyln Bowl Nashville

Date: October 26, 2025

Review and Photographs by: Jacob Smith (https://www.jhs-photo.com)

The final night of their much-anticipated 15th anniversary tour for the release of the album Warp Riders, The Sword did not disappoint. The evening was filled with everything you’d expect from these masters of Stoner Rock. Dark ambient lighting, massive sounds, and even a David Bowie cover tossed into the mix for the evening. They started the evening off with a short set of random songs from various albums, including “Empty Temples,” “High Country,” and “Maiden, Mother & Crone,” and finished their short first set with a cover of Bowie’s song “Space Oddity.” From there, they got into the main show and played their album Warp Riders in its entirety. I always love to hear them play “Tres Brujas” and “Night City” live. So was excited to know that they were doing this tour for the anniversary of this album. It had been 10 years since the last time that I was fortunate to catch them play while in support of their album High Country. I was bummed when I saw that they had decided to disband / hiatus a few years ago. So when they started playing live gigs again. I had been extra hopeful that they would just do a full tour again, and man, was I happy.

Overall, the night was nothing short of amazing. Playing a full set of 19 songs and an encore beginning with an extended jam of “Farstar” with Kyle Shutt having a raunchy guitar solo and ending with “Winter’s Wolves.” The entire audience was over the moon with the show. I talked to a few people who had driven in from several hours away to catch this show, and every one of them was ecstatic by the end of the evening. For anyone who loves that classic Stoner Rock sound and performance. If / when The Sword announces another tour, you absolutely should try and make it out and catch them live. Having seen them twice live now, I will always go out of my way to try and see them again.

Setlist: Empty Temples – High Country – Sea of Green – Dying Earth – Maiden, Mother & Crone – Space Oddity – 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 – Farstar – Daughter of Dawn – Winter’s Wolves

[Show as slideshow]

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries