back to
Quiet Year Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

BEYOND THE SWORDS

by nine of swords

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD  or more

     

  • Limited Edition Cassette Tape
    Cassette + Digital Album

    first pressing: 50 professionally-dubbed cassettes
    **imprint will appear on both sides**

    Includes unlimited streaming of BEYOND THE SWORDS via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

  • Digipak CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    first pressing: 50 4-panel digipak CDs
    **mockup may vary slightly from final product**

    Includes unlimited streaming of BEYOND THE SWORDS via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

  • Angel of Death T-Shirt
    T-Shirt/Shirt

    Printed on Gildan G500
    Design by Rae Postlewaite

    Sold Out

  • Joan T-Shirt
    T-Shirt/Shirt

    Printed on Gildan G500
    Design by Rachel Gordon

    Sold Out

  • Blanket As My Shield T-Shirt
    T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album

    Printed on Gildan G500
    Design by Nora Einbender-Luks

    Includes unlimited streaming of BEYOND THE SWORDS via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
WITH HELP 01:05
i don't know what else there is to say a day in your head is worth two in the grave what can i say? a day in your head is worth two in the grave i'm on the outside doing my best to listen in push me further if i still dont get it i cant help but give a shit i'd rather hear you cry than hear you're dead get the fuck out of your head
2.
THE PAVEMENT 01:55
who i'm looking at versus who i'm seeing he who brings me up he who brings me down he who clowns around he who is just a fucking clown he who's got it all figured out well not this time around this time i will get the last laugh
3.
OF ANGUISH 01:45
pink collar labor these are your fucking neighbors you think its easy? then get down on your knees needs aren't met, drowning in debt conditions will improve? not holding my breath you say you want a diverse workplace, you're so full of shit, you're just saving face empty gestures, it's a race to the bottom last week's promises always forgotten you hired a scab to make matters worse well i'll pick that scab till it bleeds on your shirt you made me realize that you're outnumbered if we walk out, you go under solidarity with workers only you want empathy? where's your humanity?
4.
you must be mistaking me for your fantasy of what you think is love i have to be nice i don't care what you know you're not special the bar's just low no one exists to make you feel good i hope you know i'm no exception led to believe you would be there for me the pattern is woven in such a tight weave there's no room to breathe or room to reflect on where i tripped never had a grip don't turn to me when you need praise for glory don't act shocked when i recount the stories you talk about men like you're not one of them look in the mirror and do better you must be mistaking me for your escape from your life that's such a bore i have to be nice i don't care who you are you're not special its a low fucking bar
5.
sun hits the gold 'round your neck always sure to double check you locked the door behind you couldn't rush if you tried to tortoise shell clip in your hair voice traveling through the air we didn't always talk but you were always there and now i hold close who i got cause someone's here, then they're not it makes no sense but it happens a lot time will reveal the hand you're dealt, it's never planned i don't give a shit if you don't understand just like any other day, all your "one day"s and all your "someday"s will become today like a body falling in silent waters loss sends ripples through your life
6.
HOLY SMOKE 01:06
7.
REVERSED 00:56
you know whats up you call me up i'll drop everything til you shut up you need to be held so i hold you but when i hold you who holds me? care burnout love burnout shit nobody talks about we take the most from who has the least who the fuck are we? there's no system in place for care but you know that i'll always be there
8.
occupy document where you are is where you're meant to be you're free to share who you are or thrive in secrecy we need you here with all you will or wont share we need you here this doesnt work unless you care you're fucked if you stay on your island
9.
he thought he could handle it, turns out he didnt know shit become what you hate, leave me in your wake when someone dies they leave a world behind brother, friend, lover, there will never be another the void swallows me whole see you later, later's never if i held you closer would it have been better? is it selfish to wish it had been different? fuck my wishes you're forgiven when someone dies they leave a world behind brother, friend, lover never another i have no wisdom i just miss my friend
10.
UNTOUCHABLE 01:36
not to be dramatic but i think i'll sleep alone the rest of my life everytime, same old shit i thought i'd be sick of it but instead i'm addicted to all that i can't fix i wake up and choose to love an enemy how naive of me this fucker ain't no friend of me i want no hand in this game you're all the same all of you you're all the same my heart hangs in my chest like a fat droplet of molten glass hot heavy untouchable how the fuck did i ever find you lovable?
11.
JOAN 02:37
you've got me captive savage, flailing, crazed resistance is my shield i won't be deranged by your nonsense bogus law i've no fear truth ringing in my ear you've got me questioning am i sick in the head? well i think you're just jealous that's why you want me dead the more you erase me, the more i'll remain you can burn a body you can't burn a name you just burned a saint the world sees and is ashamed mortal terror human error holy fervor rid of me you think you got me where you want me but you're really setting me free
12.
your sensitivity stops when its my turn to speak you think you're the center but everyone's the main character this shit just puts me to sleep this shit makes me weak you got way too much of me but i'm happy to be whole again why am i obsessed with being friends? i'm better when i'm on my own not crying on the telephone the landscape morphs into a green blur out the train window and i'm surrounded by faces of people who's names i'll never know main character syndrome keeps you in your head i'll never share my heart again you'll never get my heart again

about

You’ve heard myths about the Unkillable Band. It doesn’t matter if time or distance threatens to tear this group apart. Those inconveniences would ricochet off a rock-solid foundation, shattering into a million pieces against impervious resolve. Nine of Swords (the tarot card) may be concerned with the stuff of nightmares, but Nine of Swords (the band) has persisted despite the anxieties and turmoil of their outer lives. Beyond the Swords, their first release in six years, is a self-proclaimed “declaration of their endless existence.” The band continues with a maxim that would strike fear in less-immortal hearts: “the sun rises and sets with Nine of Swords.”

But before we go Beyond, we must reach the Before: 2013. While attending Purchase College, guitarist Chris Postlewaite (he/him) and drummer TJ Stevenson (they/them) began forming what would become their self-titled debut. Vocalist/lyricist Rachel Gordon (she/her) was asked to join the project after performing with the pair as Hole at a Halloween cover show, tagging her as someone that should scream. Bassist Jack Tomascak (he/him) rounded out the roster, and Nine of Swords’ debut would drop on Christmas Day 2013. Summer 2014’s I Can’t Stand My Own Face earned groundswell for its acerbic cocktail of hardcore and metal-indebted screamo.

You Will Never Die, released in the wake of the 2016 election, pivoted the Nine of Swords formula towards quick-release, straightforward arrangements while maintaining an open-minded palette of influences and styles. As the band explains, “we like to have a certain level of variety.” Beyond the Swords, stemming from before You Will Never Die’s release through March 2021, employs a kitchen-sink approach, avoiding genre pigeonholing and certain stigmas altogether. Spun another way in the band’s trademark self-confidence: “we’re a hardcore band for people that don’t listen to hardcore.”

Beyond the Swords could be likened to a compilation record—five years of tinkering transformed it from an EP to a collection of writing accelerated by the pandemic. In fact, the band put together the release in a series of scattershot and isolated months, tracking it before they performed it in the same room. If this long walk to a follow-up seems convoluted, the songwriting is anything but. Inspired by the straightforward inclinations of their previous album, Nine of Swords took five years to investigate and expand this aspect of their band.

This straightforwardness is a two-pronged attack. Songs blare past in two minutes or less via blistering tempos and thundering aggression, leaving shrapnel behind. Rachel’s lyricism removes the mystery from her personal experiences, reframing them as relatable expressions of grief in light of immeasurable loss and heartbreak. Snarling chord changes bolster the title track while Rachel stares down the blankness of absence, rifling through a series of what-ifs and missed opportunities. This anguish is spat through simple phrasing, plain spoken as if they’re the words a listener may search for to describe the same pain.

Moments like “Untouchable” sear with vitriol and anger, the venomous clarity gleaned from a years-old diary entry. “Joan” was born as another song and survived to remember Joan of Arc’s suffering, and serves as this release’s requisite “J” track. (Others in the Nine of Swords canon include “Judith,” “Jerome” and “Janet.”) “Of Anguish” pairs a heavier, slamming opening with fast intervening sections while making a political detour to question “pink collar labor,” a term to describe jobs considered feminine or unskilled. “Silent Waters” opens with frantic acoustic guitar before being blasted apart by jagged vocal delivery and the uncertainty of planning for tomorrow.

Despite the haunting lyrical content, Beyond the Swords was written with energy and the expressiveness of live music in mind, especially as a vehicle for catharsis. As the band defines it, “this is a feel good record. Genuinely. It’s raw in its emotions, but it’s about transcending that. Beyond the Swords: moving past the pain that impales you.”

credits

released June 3, 2022

WRITTEN BETWEEN OCTOBER 2017-MARCH 2021

RG- VOCALS
JT-BASS
TJS- DRUMS
CP-GUITARS

PRODUCED, ENGINEERED, & MIXED BY GG IN PHILADELPHIA PA IN 2021
MASTERED BY WILL KILLINGSWORTH AT DEAD AIR

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

nine of swords Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PHL/NYC

nineofswordsmusic at gmail dot com

contact / help

Contact nine of swords

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

nine of swords recommends:

If you like nine of swords, you may also like: