In 1981, south of
Montreal in
Saint Bruno de Montarville,
Quebec, Rick (vocals) and Dan Hughes (drums) formed a heavy metal band called
Sword. They were joined by guitarist Mike Plant and bassist Mike Larocque in the first lineup of the band. They signed their first commercial contract in 1984 with
Aquarius Records. Sword released two albums for
Aquarius in the late 1980s; the debut album
Metalized in 1986 and its follow-up
Sweet Dreams in 1988. They toured in the support slot for
Motörhead and
Alice Cooper, and the group opened for
Metallica on their
Master of Puppets tour in 1986. Rick Hughes also formed
Saints & Sinners and released
a self-titled album with them. In October 2006,
Aquarius Records released
The Best of Sword a compilation album.
Metalized was re-issued in 2009. They have since played various festivals in Canada and Germany. In 2016, they released
Live Hammersmith, recorded while they were on tour supporting Motörhead in 1987. Sword's third studio album (their first in 34 years) titled
III was released on November 25, 2022. The band is currently writing new material for their next album. ==Discography==