Biography

This Canadian heavy metal quartet was formed in Montreal in 1981 by vocalist Rick Hughes and drummer Dan Hughes. Augmented by Mike Plant (guitar) and Mike Larock (bass), it took the band five years to secure a recording contract. Finally signing to Aquarius in 1986, in the same year they released Metalized, which paid respect to both the early 80s British scene and older groups such as Black Sabbath and Rainbow. Sword then secured support slots on the Alice Cooper and Metallica tours of 1987, regaling audiences with a primal example of early power metal. Sweet Dreams, released in 1988, consolidated this approach: monstrously aching riffs and gut-wrenching guitar breaks, encased within dynamic and melodic arrangements. Sword were an excellent unit, but through a lack of image and record company backing, their commercial prospects were ultimately compromised, and they broke up in 1991.
DISCOGRAPHY: Metalized (Aquarius 1986)***, Sweet Dreams (Aquarius 1988)**.

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