The Sword begin shredding preparations in Austin.Continuing their effective mirroring of Mastodon’s career trajectory, the Sword are heading back to the studio with local producer Matt Bayles in tow. They have a history of self-producing their albums, but this time they’ll be recording with Bayles (who produced Mastodon’s Leviathan and Blood Mountain) down in their Austin studio. The album will be out later this year via Kemado Records, and during their downtime, they’ve also managed to score the opening slot for Motorhead’s appearance at Stubb’s during SXSW. Well-played, lads.