From http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/618

Sword Heaven
Piles 7"
(BloodLust!)

Has anyone called Sword Heaven the modern day equivalent of Test Dept. yet? Of course, the scale of things is dropped drastically – no way do these guys get to lead an army in to beat on car bodies and shoot sparks from metal grinders. All the same, these two men from Ohio raise a racket that sounds like a Civil War re-enactment for the noise set, an abattoir of squealing feedback, skull-denting drums and the sort of screaming that will no doubt grow some polyps on these kids' vocal cords. "Piles" in both parts, particularly side A, mines the sort of brutality you hope you never have to witness in any sort of spontaneous situation, like a multi-car accident or a building burning down. Harsh times calling for more harsh times. All white sleeve, so you don't get a photo. 300 copies, white vinyl.
(http://bloodlust.blogspot.com)

Review of the Not Not Fun split 7" from:

http://www.terminal-boredom.com/reviews.html

Raccooo-oo-oone/Sword Heaven - June 06 7
Iowas Raccooo-oo-oone didnt grab me at first, but the nightmarish minimalism of guitar, drum, vocal and effects make an aggressively ambient sound that falls into a primitive warrior throb. Pretty impressive stuff...Even more primitive, more aggressive, and more nightmarish are Ohios Sword Heaven. These guys say they are influenced by Swans and it shows. There is a "Cop"-like bludgeoning going on here, but it is much rawer and more primal than anything by M Gira & Co. Swans sound like they had a very bad day, Sword Heaven seems faced with the apocalypse. A very good slab of dark emotion.(SSR)

 3" cd-r in a petri dish. Put out by Apop Records of Columbia Missouri. This is a live recording of a show from last November at Bernies in Columbus with Minsk and Teeth of the Hydra. Basically one long version (the longest we ever played) of Faceless Nameless. Best live Sword Heaven recording to date. Recording by Sean Gleba and Mark Van Fleet.

You can get it here or from us at shows until they are gone:

http://apoprecords.com/swordheaven.html

Here's what they said:

Sword Heaven

Twenty minutes of Industrial sludge dredged up from the bottom of ancient tar pits. Sword Heaven bashes the listener into submission with the haunting sounds of Screeching metal, caveman howls, and the most intense pounding of drums one will ever encounter.

This release is part of the apop Pasteur series. Each cd is sealed in petri dishes with artwork/dye/polyethylene glycol mixture.

$9 postage paid in the U.S. $11 elsewhere

From: http://www.monotremata.com/dead/da04/music_reviews.html

Sword Heaven -- SACRED DOOR [self-released]

"The stalker's tread." We've all read about it, seen it in the movies -- the steady and slow footsteps of a deranged and slobbering murderer slowly yet inexorably closing the gap between knife / machete / hydraulic cyborg jaw / rake) and throat. Sword Heaven seem to base their entire aesthetic around it, from the lopsided stutter of processed acoustic drums to the scrape of shards of broken metal, the spare and taunting electronics and slurred, gibberish mumbling chants. Like death coming up the stairs; you can't tear yourself away. SEE THEM LIVE. (Maybe I just inordinately love this band because they've got song titles like "Cults of New Jersey" and "Take Shelter Nordic Howlers." But, you know, what the hell? They're heavy as two tons of fuck and they don't play instruments. Drums aren't an instrument!) [gafne rostow]

From: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/501

Raccoo-oo-oon/Sword Heaven
split 7
(Not Not Fun)

Sixth and last edition in the Bored Fortress Singles Series. Raccoo-oo-oon are from Iowa City, and apparently are ex-screamo kids who've been touched by the spirit of the woods. Whether that's the case or not, they lay down some thick and formidable pummel here, rolling from pensive gamelan moments to a full-on punishment ride of tribal percussion and shattering groove. The track is called Visage of the Fox; the band's tour is ending right about now, hope you caught it. They channel that rare instance as of late in today's young experimentalist world where they don't lose the song, but build a diorama of wonder around it instead. Sword Heaven's contribution, Town Hag, relies on the notion that noise and experimentation is not about fun and amazement; it's all about kill, kill, kill and the people they kill get up and kill. Tarpit screams, artillery percussion, and scraping, piercing noise mash down upon one another in an unholy hatefuck of rustbelt proportions. Early Swans would be an apt reference point for the sort of aural destruction they traffic in. Not so much to the point, but the point is made from the get-go. Do not fuck with Sword Heaven. Like all the other singles in this subscription series, this one's out of print already. Search if you dare.
(www.notnotfun.com)

"7minus1times3" VHS

3 live performances the song 7minus1times3 mashed together

"Sacred Door" cd-r available on May 2005 tour

From http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2114

Sword Heaven
Horsing
[23 Productions, 2005]

Ohios Sword Heaven is a mighty prolific duo, with something like four recordings released within the past year and a few more forthcoming. Their sound merits the exploration, however. Gut-punching distorted drums and creeping electronic manipulations elicit near-death vocal codas I missed the first two listens through. Since (if one allows for some extra scrapes and moans) this formula applies to the forty-minute entirety of the album, the pressing question is: does it wear out? Amazingly enough, no. Believe me, I expected it to. I actually awaited the moment the minimal dread atmospheres would finally lose their menace. But no such luck. The tapes lugubrious pace and near-mundanity are assets. Sword Heaven sounds damn confident over forty minutes. They know their sound takes time to unwind, and they expect the listener to know that to. We get no breaks, no relief from their desolate sound world. Which is a blessing after all; this tape becomes more compelling with each listen.

By: Bryan Berge