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The Death Card (tarot card) when received is a card that represents the death of one aspect of life, and the beginning of another. For Sworn In, this is just the beginning, and the bands first full-length is finally here. After several months of waiting, Sworn In is ready to take that next step forward with The Death Card.
There are a handful of words I could use to describe The Death Card; eerie, emotional, dark, powerful, hypnotic, all these terms noticeably have no positive vibe to them. This album tells the story of a man, or a character who is slowly losing his mind, his emotions, physical human characteristics, and is constantly contemplating death in each song (and eventually ending in death on the final two songs). Lyrically this album stays consistent with those thoughts and amazingly tells that story song after song. The title track, “XIII” gives a precursor to the album, which puts the entire record on a constant ever-descending loop. Sworn In might not be the band you want to listen to if your looking for metal love songs. Be ready for some powerful vocals from Tyler Dennen that will make you uncomfortable, awestruck and pissed off all at the same time. I got the same feeling of amazement and discomfort from the first time I listened to Slipknot’s “Iowa”, as I did with The Death Card. Corey Taylor and Tyler Dennen are clearly two different vocalists with entirely different styles, but I think fans of Slipknot would be surprised with what Sworn In has to offer.
Musically the album stays consistent with the playing style, riffs and heaviness. Each song is written with a different structure and different patterns, and seems to have a common theme of mixing up between speeding up & speeding down. The flow of the album fits right along side with the lyrics and really tells a dark story. Old fans can really see how Sworn In has grown since their previous EP’s in all aspects, but above all the music has matured a lot. Some may find the breakdowns and riffs are too similar and that could take away from the uniqueness of their sound. I find the music and riffs to be powerful and creative, but I definitely see room for growth, which isn’t a problem since this is their first full-length album.
Despite Sworn In’s consistent fan base growth over these past few months, I still see their market and audience hard too reach because not everybody is into music this dark and troubling. However I’m sure people could say the same thing about bands like Slipknot, Korn and Emmure when they first started, and everybody can see how far those acts have come. We’ll all have to wait and see how The Death Card takes off.
Sworn In has now made their mark in the world with The Death Card, and I highly recommend it for fans of Slipknot, Emmure and Bring Me The Horizon. Check out their music videos for “Snake Eyes” and “Hypocrisy”
9/10
Ryan
SWORN IN has posted a teaser for their upcoming music video, ‘Snake Eyes.’ The song comes from their upcoming debut album The Death Card.
You can stream a new song off of SWORN IN’s upcoming debut album ‘The Death Card’ called “deadpan” now here: http://www.metalsucks.net/2013/08/08/exclusive-premiere-sworn-in-deadpan/
Sworn In’s debut album The Death Card (Razor & Tie) is now available for pre-order on the iTunes Store HERE. When fans pre-order the album, they will receive an instant download of the track, “Hypocrisy.” The album will be available for $7.99 for a limited time.
Listen to the new song “Hypocrisy” exclusively on Revolver (http://www.revolvermag.com/news/exclusive-sworn-in-premiere-new-song-hypocrisy.html)
Sworn In will release their debut full length album, The Death Card, on August 20th on Razor & Tie. Fans can pre-order the new album in various merch bundles now HERE (http://swornin.merchnow.com). Bundles include t-shirts, vinyl, CDs, a custom tarot Death Card, a 4-inch Sworn In patch as well as the instant grat track download of “A Song For The Nameless.” The Death Card was produced by the band and was recorded, mixed and mastered by Brian Hood (A Plea For Purging, Gideon).
The Death Card Track List:
1. XIII
2. Hypocrisy
3.Mindless
4.Dead Soul
5.Senseless
6. A Song For The Nameless
7. Snake Eyes
8.Deadpan
9. Mute
10. Three Cheers
11.Bitter Blood
12.Death
13. Return (Heartless)
Zak, one of the guitarists for Sworn In discusses The Death Card, pre show routines, and their time on We Are Triumphant.
Tell us your name and position in the band, please
Zak, guitar
What do you think draws people to your music, specifically?
I personally would say literature and film. However I can’t exactly speak for everyone else who is involved with writing our music.
What would you say is the biggest non-musical influence on the music?
Simple stretching really, it’s key to making sure we don’t pull any muscles.
How do you prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Tyler our vocalist doesn’t really do warmups, and I usually just do a few scales before we play to loosen up. Drinking a lot of water helps as well.
What is your favorite album or songs to play on the long travel days?
Everyone is different, but when I drive I listen to nothing but Deftones, Limp Bizkit, and Mars Volta. I’ll also be playing the new Boards of Canada album a lot the next tour.
Being in a band is a struggle even when things are going well. What keeps you driven and pushing forward?
You know, I ask myself the same question every day. As cliche as it may sound, I would say the kids who come to our shows, buy our merch, and offer us kind words are what keeps me driven.
When a band reaches any level of success, it’s not uncommon to find covers of their songs on YouTube. Do you listen to these covers? Have any stood out to you?
We often times have fans post covers on our wall and we always watch them. One that really stood out however, was a guitar and vocal cover some kids from Canada did. They completely rerecorded the song and did a great job. I thought that was so cool.
Any guest vocalists on The Death Card? Like say, Drew from Stray From The Path?
No, we were originally considering reaching out to vocalists for a guest spot, however we decided it would be best to have it all us instead.
Can you comment about your time on We Are Triumphant? I know they had a recent controversy with Silence having their FB likes cut in half. Did you guys experience anything similar?
I can’t go in depth as it would be too long, however, Greg Long is a very snaky person and I would suggest no band ever work with him in any way shape or form.
Any other tour dates this summer for those who missed you on this tour with FTFD?
We’re taking off July to prepare the release of our debut album ‘The Death Card’ however a tour to support its release in both August and September are currently in the works.