3 Inches of Blood Advance and Vanquish
Roadrunner Records
2004
www.3inchesofblood..com
www.roadrunnerrecords.com
1 Fear On The Bridge (Upon The Boiling Sea 1)
2. Deadly Sinners
3 Revenge Is A Vulture
4 Dominion of Deceit
5 Premonitions of Pain
6 Lord of the Storm (Upon The Boiling Sea II)
7 Wykydtron
8 Swordmaster
9 Axes of Evil
10. Crazy Nights
11. Destroy the Orcs
12. The Phantom of the Crimson Cloak
13. Isle of Eternal Despair (Upon the Boiling Sea III)
Well, they say everything old is new again, and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD are here to prove that. Now, where the hell did these guys come from? They just popped up from nowhere to me, and I have Roadrunner to thank for discovering these guys and hungrily signing them to a contract where their music would be made available to the hungry metal masses. I unfortunately was not aware of the band with their prior release. This is one of those strange stories where I discover a band when I was event planning on it. I was sitting there on my couch playing the brand spanking new Tony Hawk game on my trusty Xbox, and was casually paying attention to the music when something started coming out of my TV speakers, and I actually had to put down the controller to give it my utmost attention. I was in awe. They immediately went on to my purchase list, and straight to the top of that list. Truthfully, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD is nothing new, but they do it so bloody well, it is near impossible to ignore this release. They are almost the perfect combination of traditional metal and modern influences I have heard.
3 INCHES OF BLOOD fall into that strange category of a modern band wearing their influences proudly on their sleeves like badges of honor. Classic metal is the main influence running rampant; much akin to what WOLF have achieved in their retro becomes modern approach. They use the two vocalist approach, as one vocalist handles the more mid range blackened growls, which sometimes can sound a bit close to metalcore, and thankfully are used sparingly, and the other vocalist taking some hits in the balls apparently, because this man can reach some high notes. He has a little raspiness to his approach, maybe a little bit like ACCEPT, but man, when he hits those high notes like ROB HALFORD in his prime, it is breathtaking. I also hear a little KING DIAMOND seeping out at times with some of the notes he can reach. The music is definitely a throwback to some early metal greats. There is plenty of dual guitar madness, galloping drum beats, black metal influenced speed bursts, and plenty of thrash-y riffs. The songs are definitely fantasy inspired, as there are songs about orcs, and a three part epic pirate song. But you know what, nothing ever comes across as cheesy. Listen to these lyrics from Deadly Sinners, Mighty Warriors with metal on their side. Enemies of metal, your death is our reward. Those lyrics would make MANOWAR proud, indeed. Overall tracks are Deadly Sinners, Axes of Evil, and Dominion Of Deceit. And it doesnt stop there. The imagery on this release is metal to the fullest. The cover has a slew of armored warriors marching into battle. Now that is metal. Now to get this perfect sound the album drips with, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD have gone for the best ears in the metal business, and combined the production talents of Neil Kernon and the knob mastery of Colin Richardson. This is a brutal combination, and the music is just seeping with audial perfection.
Kudos is definitely a word I would use for this band a lot. Kudos for the balls to make a classic metal album in this day and age, kudos for the choices on the production, and frankly, kudos for making a straight ahead kick ass album. I would almost have to give this album a perfect score, but there are just a few setbacks preventing me from doing so. Some of the songs do run into each other, and seem to use the same song design a lot but overall, this is almost as close to a perfect modern classic album I have heard in my lifetime. 3 INCHES OF BLOOD will never disappoint and will satisfy all of your metal cravings. This is definitely a purchase or die release. Im sure there will be some out there that totally disagree with me, but you probably dont like IRON MAIDEN either. Long live clasic metal!
Rating: 9.1/10
Evil C
Roadrunner Records
2004
www.3inchesofblood..com
www.roadrunnerrecords.com
1 Fear On The Bridge (Upon The Boiling Sea 1)
2. Deadly Sinners
3 Revenge Is A Vulture
4 Dominion of Deceit
5 Premonitions of Pain
6 Lord of the Storm (Upon The Boiling Sea II)
7 Wykydtron
8 Swordmaster
9 Axes of Evil
10. Crazy Nights
11. Destroy the Orcs
12. The Phantom of the Crimson Cloak
13. Isle of Eternal Despair (Upon the Boiling Sea III)
Well, they say everything old is new again, and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD are here to prove that. Now, where the hell did these guys come from? They just popped up from nowhere to me, and I have Roadrunner to thank for discovering these guys and hungrily signing them to a contract where their music would be made available to the hungry metal masses. I unfortunately was not aware of the band with their prior release. This is one of those strange stories where I discover a band when I was event planning on it. I was sitting there on my couch playing the brand spanking new Tony Hawk game on my trusty Xbox, and was casually paying attention to the music when something started coming out of my TV speakers, and I actually had to put down the controller to give it my utmost attention. I was in awe. They immediately went on to my purchase list, and straight to the top of that list. Truthfully, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD is nothing new, but they do it so bloody well, it is near impossible to ignore this release. They are almost the perfect combination of traditional metal and modern influences I have heard.
3 INCHES OF BLOOD fall into that strange category of a modern band wearing their influences proudly on their sleeves like badges of honor. Classic metal is the main influence running rampant; much akin to what WOLF have achieved in their retro becomes modern approach. They use the two vocalist approach, as one vocalist handles the more mid range blackened growls, which sometimes can sound a bit close to metalcore, and thankfully are used sparingly, and the other vocalist taking some hits in the balls apparently, because this man can reach some high notes. He has a little raspiness to his approach, maybe a little bit like ACCEPT, but man, when he hits those high notes like ROB HALFORD in his prime, it is breathtaking. I also hear a little KING DIAMOND seeping out at times with some of the notes he can reach. The music is definitely a throwback to some early metal greats. There is plenty of dual guitar madness, galloping drum beats, black metal influenced speed bursts, and plenty of thrash-y riffs. The songs are definitely fantasy inspired, as there are songs about orcs, and a three part epic pirate song. But you know what, nothing ever comes across as cheesy. Listen to these lyrics from Deadly Sinners, Mighty Warriors with metal on their side. Enemies of metal, your death is our reward. Those lyrics would make MANOWAR proud, indeed. Overall tracks are Deadly Sinners, Axes of Evil, and Dominion Of Deceit. And it doesnt stop there. The imagery on this release is metal to the fullest. The cover has a slew of armored warriors marching into battle. Now that is metal. Now to get this perfect sound the album drips with, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD have gone for the best ears in the metal business, and combined the production talents of Neil Kernon and the knob mastery of Colin Richardson. This is a brutal combination, and the music is just seeping with audial perfection.
Kudos is definitely a word I would use for this band a lot. Kudos for the balls to make a classic metal album in this day and age, kudos for the choices on the production, and frankly, kudos for making a straight ahead kick ass album. I would almost have to give this album a perfect score, but there are just a few setbacks preventing me from doing so. Some of the songs do run into each other, and seem to use the same song design a lot but overall, this is almost as close to a perfect modern classic album I have heard in my lifetime. 3 INCHES OF BLOOD will never disappoint and will satisfy all of your metal cravings. This is definitely a purchase or die release. Im sure there will be some out there that totally disagree with me, but you probably dont like IRON MAIDEN either. Long live clasic metal!
Rating: 9.1/10
Evil C
eadly SinnersReview Date:11/5/2004Reviewer:
