Feb. 11 — A little more than a month after debuting its lead single, Warbringer has unveiled the second single from its forthcoming album.
The band premiered its new single, ‘The Sword and the Cross’ and the song’s lyric video Tuesday. As with the album’s lead single, ‘A Better World,’ this latest composition is another heavy, piercing composition. A close listen reveals it takes audiences in a different direction from the arrangement featured in ‘A Better World,’ though. Where ‘A Better World’ is a full on thrash opus, ‘The Sword and the Cross’ is heavier for the most part, and at points, slower. Though, there is definitely plenty of thrash leaning once again here. Overall it does bear some difference from the album’s lead single.
Lyrically, the song could be argued to be a sociopolitical statement made through an allegory, especially considering who is in the White House today.
Front man John Kevill discussed the song’s lyrical message in a prepared statement:
“‘The Sword and the Cross’ was the first song we wrote for Wrath and Ruin and sets the tone for the album,” said Kevill. “We have a dark, epic thrashing number where a callous lord tells the audience how and why he owns them. First, establishing himself with brute violence (the Sword). Second, legitimating himself with ideology (the Cross). The end of the song was written first, where this lord says that he is still present, and reigns in skyscrapers rather than castles, that his sons will own your sons, and he will own you long after he dies. I love this section and it feels absolutely maniacal and evil to sing.”
Kevill continues, “One of the chief themes on the record is ‘techno-feudalism.’ Though our rulers may have given up their crowns and titles, they never relinquished their power. The modern lords are no less our masters than the medieval ones were.
This certainly sounds so much like Trump.
In related news, Warbringer is scheduled to tour Europe this spring in support of its new album. The tour is set to launch May 3 in London, UK and to run through June 7 in Lyons, France. It includes stops in cities, such as Berlin, Germany; Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria.
The tour’s schedule is noted below along with the track listing for the band’s new album.
Infernal Bleeding Over Europe 2025
WARBRINGER
Supporting Decapitated w/Cryptopsy & Carnation
03.05.25 UK – London / Incineration Fest
04.05.25 UK – Exeter / Phoenix
05.05.25 UK – Cardiff / The Globe
06.05.25 UK – Newcastle / Anarchy Brewery
07.05.25 UK – Glasgow / Slay
08.05.25 UK – Manchester / Academy 2
09.05.25 UK – Birmingham / XOYO
10.05.25 UK – Nottingham / Rescue Rooms
11.05.25 UK – Norwich / The Waterfront
13.05.25 FR – Lille / The Black Lab
14.05.25 NL – Enschede / Metropool
15.05.25 DE – Munich / Backstage
16.05.25 CH – Aarau / KiFF
17.05.25 DE – Lindau / Vaudeville
18.05.25 AT – Vienna / Szene
19.05.25 HU – Budapest / Dürer Kert
20.05.25 CZ – Prague / Fuchs2
21.05.25 DE – Schweinfurt / Stattbahnhof
22.05.25 DE – Dresden / Blauer Salon
23.05.25 PL – Kraków / Hype Park
24.05.25 PL – Warsaw / Proxima
26.05.25 DE – Berlin / Hole44
27.05.25 DK – Aarhus / Voxhall
28.05.25 DE – Hamburg / Logo
29.05.25 DE – Vechta / Gulfhaus
30.05.25 DE – Dortmund / Junkyard
31.05.25 BE – Sint-Niklaas / Casino
01.06.25 FR – Paris / La Machine
03.06.25 DE – Frankfurt / Das Bett
04.06.25 DE – Karlsruhe / Substage
05.06.25 IT – Milan / Legend Club
06.06.25 IT – Bologna / Locomotiv
07.06.25 FR – Lyon / Lions Metal Fest
Wrath And Ruin tracklisting:
CD1
1 The Sword And The Cross
2 A Better World
3 Neuromancer
4 The Jackhammer
5 Through A Glass, Darkly
6 Strike From The Sky
7 Cage Of Air
8 The Last of My Kind
CD 2
1 Firepower Kills (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
2 The Black Hand Reaches Out (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
3 Crushed Beneath the Tracks (Live in Nantes, France – April 20th, 2023)
4 Living Weapon (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
5 Woe to the Vanquished (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
6 Living in a Whirlwind (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
7 Guitar Solo/ Outer Reaches (Live in Nantes, France – April 20th, 2023)
8 Shellfire (Live in Munich, Germany – April 5th, 2023
9 Descending Blade (Live in Krakow, Poland – April 4th, 2023)
10 Hunter-Seeker (Live in Krakow, Poland – April 4th, 2023)
11 Defiance of Fate (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
12 Silhouettes (Live in Nantes, France – April 20th, 2023)
13 Remain Violent (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
14 Combat Shock (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
15 Total War (Live in Budapest, Hungary – April 7th, 2023)
More information on Warbringer’s new album, single, video and tour is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Website: http://www.warbringermusic.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Warbringermusic
Twitter: http://twitter.com/warbringerband
