his main influence, identifying such authors as George R. R. Martin, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur C. Clarke as inspirations. On Warp Riders, Cronise was again credited for writing all the lyrics, and only guitarist Kyle Shutt was added to the credits for the musical compositions. The band has cited Black Sabbath as a major influence, in addition to doom trio Sleep, sludge band the Melvins, thrash veterans Slayer, and heavy metal icons Iron Maiden and Deep Purple, among others. The band's guitarists, in discussions of their musical influences, have identified 'classic' metal guitar players such as James Hetfield of Metallica, Pantera's Dimebag Darrell and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and Cronise has also described Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top) as a "huge influence." In an interview with entertainment newspaper The A.V. Club, Cronise also revealed that local metal band HRM, rock musician Bob Seger and R&B singer Michael Jackson have been influences on the Sword's sound. Band members Final lineup John D. Cronise – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Kyle Shutt – lead guitar, backing vocals Bryan Richie – bass, keyboards, backing vocals Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III – drums Former members Trivett Wingo – drums Former touring musicians Kevin Fender – drums Discography Age of Winters (2006) Gods of the Earth (2008) Warp Riders (2010) Apocryphon (2012) High Country (2015) Used Future (2018) References External links Musical groups from Austin, Texas Heavy metal musical groups from Texas American doom metal musical groups American stoner rock musical groups Musical quartets Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2022 2003 establishments in Texas 2022 disestablishments in Texas