"I wrote pretty much all of the first record, but now it’s more of a 60/40 split between myself and Kyle,” says Cronise, who is also the band’s lyricist and singer. “Kyle plays most solos, but I play a few—the sloppy ones. Kyle has better technique and he can play faster. Actually, he’s just better than me!”

Gods of the Earth has more evolved, faster-picked, palm-muted riffs. Is that your contribution, Kyle?
Shutt: Somewhat. My riffs are generally noodlier, with more notes. I used to play in a lot of grindcore and math metal bands, but by the time we formed the Sword, I was ready to tone the complex stuff down. The biggest reason many of the riffs on the new record are more evolved is because we toured Age of Winters so much. After a while, you just want to make your music more interesting for yourself. Plus, we became better players over the course of all of those gigs.

Do you guys have to tweak your tones to get them to speak so clearly?
Cronise: Not as much as you might think. Our sounds are different, however—my tone has more midrange, whereas Kyle’s has more highs, more lows, and a harder-edged attack. More importantly though, it’s what we play that allows the guitars to come out defined. See, harmonically, we keep our parts very straightforward, so there isn’t any room for clashing. Even when we play harmonized single-note lines, it’s a basic harmony so as to not get muddy and weird.

You guys tune down two full-steps to C, and you embrace the rubbery quality of the low-tuned sound.
Cronise: Yeah. When I was younger, I remember reading interviews with Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil where he would talk about having to use the heaviest strings he could find so when he tuned down really low, the strings wouldn’t do that rubbery thing. So I went out and got the heaviest strings I could. But then I heard Black Sabbath, and that changed everything. A lightbulb went off and I realized the reason Tony Iommi sounded so huge was because he was tuning down with gauges as light as a .008 set. That’s why it sounds so awesome!

Do you find that if you play too hard the strings flutter too far out of tune?
Shutt: No. I tear up my guitar live—probably harder than I should. I’ll get a few beers in me and go nuts! We’ve never found intonation to be a problem if your guitar is set up to be tuned that low. For example, one of the main things I found was that, if the nut isn’t cut right and it’s too shallow, the strings will pop out.

Kyle, how do you get your leads to cut through the band’s thick sound? You never resort to a wah-wah, which a lot of guys do.
Shutt: The secret is a soundguy who turns your solos up! [Laughs.] Actually, I give a lot of credit to my Rio Grande Barbecue Bucker. It really cuts, yet the lows are chunky and the highs are real clean—almost too clean—but that’s probably why it slices so nicely for solos.

J.D., some of these riffs are pretty demanding. Is it a major challenge to sing and play them at the same time?
Cronise: It’s not easy at all, and it has taken a lot of practice to get where I am now. It’s all a matter of getting comfortable enough to put either the singing or the playing on autopilot. When you’re singing, you’re hands are on autopilot, and when you think about your hands, your mouth is on autopilot. Typically, it’s my hands that go on autopilot, but every now and then I need to switch, depending the vocal line or riff.

Did you guys use your live rigs to track Gods of the Earth?
Cronise: Yeah, I used my ’79 Gibson Explorer II, which is loaded with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge. My amp is an Orange OR80. I recorded the album with a Marshall 4x12 loaded with 70-watt Celestions, but live I couple it with an Orange 4x12 loaded with 60-watt Celestions. For effects, I get all of my distortion from an Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff. I have to turn the treble control all the way down on it, but it’s one of the best distortions I’ve ever used—and I’ve used a lot. I also use a Rocktron Hush and an MXR Phase 90. We both use Ernie Ball strings gauged .010-.052  and Dunlop heavy picks.

Shutt: Currently I’m playing a Les Paul Custom, but when I don’t feel like playing a 12-pound guitar I’ll use my ’61 SG reissue. My live setup is an Orange Rockerverb 100 head and a Laney AOR 100. Each amp runs through its own Laney 4x12 loaded with 70-watt Celestions.  For distortion, I run a Maxon Distortion Master in front of both amps. For the album, however, I only used the Orange setup, but the sound of two amps live is where it’s at—more tone, more volume, more badass.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned since recording and touring Age of Winters?
Cronise: I’ve had the experience where I’d hold back in the studio—I wouldn’t crank my amp as loud as normal, I’d dial back the distortion, and maybe even play a bit more cautiously. But I’ve learned that you need to crank your amp as much as possible, don’t hold back, and just go for it—that’s what’s going to make a performance punch through.

Shutt: Two years on the road made me a lot more daring with my playing. You get in front of people, everyone is having a good time, and you know the tunes like the back of your hand, so you get emboldened to try some crazy s**t that you may or may not pull off. But if you try it enough, you just might start nailing it.