Gods of the Earth (which was also produced by the band's frontman) was released two years later, giving the group its first entry on the US Billboard 200 chart when it reached number 102.

In 2010, the band released Warp Riders, a concept album centered on an original science fiction narrative written primarily by Cronise, which marked the first time the group had enlisted an external producer in Matt Bayles.

Original drummer Trivett Wingo left the group later in the year and was replaced briefly by Kevin Fender, before Vela joined in late 2011.

[7] Prior to the formation of the Sword, Cronise and Wingo had performed together in the group Ultimate Dragons in Richmond, Virginia,[8] while Shutt and Richie had worked with multiple bands in Texas "united by a love of Led Zeppelin".

[13] Age of Winters did not chart, but received widely positive reviews from critics including AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, who described the album as "remarkably well-balanced and almost suspiciously immediate".

[15] The group also released a split EP with Swedish doom metal band Witchcraft the same month, contributing new track "Sea of Spears" and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" to the record.

[36] Five shows into the opening North American leg of the Warp Riders Tour, the Sword was forced to postpone all dates due to the departure of drummer Trivett Wingo.

"[38] Upon Wingo's departure from the Sword, the remaining members of the band released the following statement: We wish Trivett nothing but the best, and it is with heavy hearts that we bid him farewell ... We wish he could continue the adventure with us, but we understand that the life of a touring musician is not for everyone ...

[47] Guitarist Kyle Shutt later spoke about the drummer changes in an interview in 2012, claiming that Wingo "took a shit all over [the band]" when he left and that Fender was chosen as he already knew how to play the group's songs.

[49] In May the band released the single "Hammer of Heaven", a song originally recorded in 2003 for the Age of Winters demo and later submitted for inclusion on the soundtrack to the film The Avengers.

[50] In the run-up to the recording of their next album, the group only played a few shows in 2012, most notably the Metallica-curated festival Orion Music + More in June, where the band was introduced by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo.

[51] Working with producer J. Robbins, the group recorded the follow-up to Warp Riders at Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore, Maryland between June and July 2012.

[55] 2012 and 2013 also saw the Sword expanding into business ventures outside of music, beginning in September 2012 with the release of the band's own brand of hot sauce called Tears of Fire.

[56] The sauce, which is made with the 'ghost pepper' Bhut Jolokia, was first announced and revealed on the Travel Channel series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on September 3, before going on sale to the public the following day.

[58] Writing for the Sword's fifth album began in late 2014,[59] which was then recorded between March and April 2015 at Church House Studio in Austin Texas with former Grupo Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada as producer.

[1] With the release of Warp Riders, members of the band acknowledged that fans with a more "narrow-minded" view of heavy metal may feel alienated by stylistic changes.

[80] He often uses Norse mythology as a topic in his lyrics,[10] notably in the song "Freya",[81] but cites literature as his main influence, identifying such authors as George R. R. Martin, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur C. Clarke as inspirations.

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.