3 Inches of Blood Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Like oh so many heavy metal bands armed with a certain vision but no realistic commercial potential, 3 Inches of Blood's brush with the big time nearly killed them. After playing a vital but largely unacknowledged role in reinvigorating the art of traditional, non-ironic heavy metal and thrash, replete with monster tales and battle lore, via their cult-approved independent 2002 debut, Battlecry Under a Winter Sun, the Vancouver sextet was smartly snapped up by Roadrunner Records. There followed two creatively laudable but financially underperforming LPs -- 2004's Advance and Vanquish and 2007's Fire Up the Blades -- at least in the eyes of the former heavy metal stronghold, since gone "corporate rock crazy" due to the unprecedented success of Nickelback. In Roadrunner's defense, their efforts to "professionalize" 3 Inches of Blood through grueling promotional campaigns and roadwork also exposed the inability of several bandmembers to "cut it," so after being dropped in 2008, it was an almost unrecognizable 3IOB that recorded this fourth long-player, Here Waits Thy Doom, for esteemed indie metal label Century Media. Among the key changes (new drummer, two guitarists subbing on bass in the studio), surely the most noteworthy is the departure of co-lead vocalist Jamie Hooper, whose coarse shrieks had heretofore matched the high-pitched singing of Cam Pipes almost word for word, but which now leaves him standing pretty much alone, front and center, backed only by the occasional supporting croaks from guitarist Justin Hagberg. Longtime fans will also notice that the band's typically thrash-infused war cries ("Battles and Brotherhood," "Call of the Hammer," "Execution Tank") and steroid-pumped modernizations of the Maiden/Priest dual-harmony gallop ("Silent Killer," "Fierce Defender," "All of Them Witches") are now making room for an increasing number of tunes steeped in a more traditional, rock-based songwriting approach (e.g. "Rock in Hell," "Snake Fighter"). This trend had already been hinted at on 3IOB's previous album, but no one could have foreseen such a radical departure as the almost bluesy "Preacher's Daughter," which marries an unusually deliberate tempo to atypically "of this world" lyrics and eventually builds to an anthemic singalong chorus! Obviously, 3IOB are rolling with the changes and trying to evolve their sound, but the truth is that most all of their familiar sonic hallmarks are still delivered here with poise and power. And while there are several other quality bands competing in the same extreme retro-metal killing ground (Skeletonwitch, Black Cobra, etc.), 3 Inches of Blood will always possess a certain advantage so long as Cam Pipes is the gladiator helming their chariot, with his as yet unchallenged Rob Halford-meets-Udo Dirkschneider vocals. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
'Fire Up the Blades'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 13
Label Roadrunner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
You get the feeling that if the members of Three Inches of Blood could somehow befriend Dr. Emmett Brown, and acquire a Flux Capacitor and a vintage DeLorean, their preferred destination would be straight back to the 1980s. After all, their releases thus far have sounded like direct descendents of '80s era metal -- Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, etc. -- and they've inched even closer to reconstructing the perfect '80s metallic beast with their 2007 release Fire Up the Blades. Produced by Slipknot's Joey Jordison, the album sounds like a conglomeration of all of the group's aforementioned influences (with an extra added focus on Rob Halford-esque shrieking vocals, à la "The Sentinel" and "Painkiller"), as evidenced by such thrashers as "Night Marauders," "Trial of Champions," and "Demon's Blade." If you're looking for a fair amount of variety and sonic experimentation, you've come to the wrong place -- it's a thrash-fest pretty much from start to finish. The only thing missing from Fire Up the Blades is a suitable undead mascot on the album cover, à la Eddie or Vic Rattlehead. [The CD was also released with a bonus track.] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
'Advance and Vanquish'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 13
Label Roadrunner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Canadian sextet 3 Inches of Blood struck a deal with none other than Roadrunner Records -- one of the world's most successful heavy metal labels -- prior to recording their sophomore effort, Advance and Vanquish, in 2004, and if that doesn't bode well for their ongoing mission to recycle and re-energize the well-worn thrash and classic metal devices of old, well, then perhaps nothing will. Sparing no thought to subtlety (as usual), choice highlights like "Deadly Sinners," "Premonition of Pain," and the uncharacteristically flippant-of-title "Crazy Nights" show no fear for life or limb as they charge headlong into the fray, their tightly controlled thrashings and reliably over the top lyrics colliding with the intensity of Painkiller-era Judas Priest and the preposterous silliness of Manowar or Dio. Pausing only to wipe their bloody swords clean on the tunics of fallen enemies, the bandmembers also rework first album favorite "Destroy the Orcs" and bring back memories of prime era Accept with tracks like "The Phantom of the Crimson Cloak" and the downright awesome "Dominion of Deceit." And in a move that's sure to distinguish them from most "sword and sorcery"-themed heavy metal bands, 3IOB's songs rarely exceed three or four minutes in length, forcing fans of epic songwriting to content themselves with the three separate tunes -- opening, halving, and closing the LP -- comprising the "Upon the Boiling Sea" suite. What's more, no matter how large a bull's-eye is painted on their war machine's posterior by the arbiters of musical "taste," 3 Inches of Blood can always claim at least one groundbreaking heavy metal innovation in the shape of dual vocalists Cam Pipes and Jamie Hooper. Here, just as they had on the band's impressive debut, Pipes and Hooper engage in high-octane duets like a pair of suicidal Valkyries, the first's piercing melodic screams combining with the second's lacerated shrieks to propel devastating remnants like "Revenge Is a Vulture," "Swordmaster," and "Axes of Evil" right over the cliffs of reasonable restraint. In short, although Advance and Vanquish lacks that single, irresistible knockout punch capable of breaking the band to a wider audience, and employs much the same weaponry as its worthy predecessor, it does so with superior production standards, a new and improved rhythm section, and a welcome increase in the number of pyrotechnic guitar solos, resulting in a faster, sleeker, meaner 3 Inches of Blood. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
