Advance & Vanquish

3 Inches of Blood | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roadrunner Records
• ASIN: B00061RYWA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,719 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

When 3 Inches originally formed in 2000 in Vancouver, British Columbia, they had no idea they would someday sign to the world's biggest metal label (Roadrunner) and tour with a platinum hard rock band (The Darkness). Jamie Hooper and company originally got together to do a one-off reunion gig for an old group of theirs - however, things went so well they decided to continue under a new moniker. A five-track demo of the new band, now dubbed 3 Inches of Blood after a particularly gruesome dream of a former member, found its way over to the house of Hot Hot Heat keyboardist Steve Bays. Bays' friend, death metal vocalist Cam Pipes (and yes, Cam Pipes is his real name), was impressed with 3 Inches' old school sound. "I was asked to lay down some backup vocals on the demo EP and they liked it. Afterwards I was asked to join as a permanent member and naturally, I said 'f*** yeah!'" exclaims the aptly-named Pipes.

It worked. What could have been just a simple experiment ended up changing 3 Inches of Blood forever. "We liked him so much on the demo, we asked him to be in the band," says Hooper. Over the next two years the group became a popular local concert draw, and recorded one well-received album, BATTLECRY UNDER A WINTER SUN, in 2002. That record, full of Dungeons and Dragons fantasy imagery and lightning-quick guitar riffs, set the tone for the group. First rule of 3 Inches: metal. Second rule of 3 Inches: metal. Third rule: no angst. "My first bedtime story was Lord of the Rings, which was read to me when I was three," says Hooper. "So that influenced me a lot, and my lyrics. We just want to be a story-based, imaginative band that plays metal."

Product Description

Japanese pressing of 2004 release, scheduled to include one exclusive bonus track. Details TBA. Roadrunner. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible band!, March 18, 2005

By 

Jeremiah Tilley (Birmingham, Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advance & Vanquish (Audio CD)

I've been collecting and studying heavy metal for about 15 years now. I love something about all the different genres of metal, etc, etc. This band, though, made me realize that a lot of the 'newest' metal just lacks...fun. I put this cd in and was IMMEDIATELY headbanging. I could care less about what some people are going to say about them: 'that old 80's sound is dead', 'the lyrics are amature'. Whatever. This is FUN metal. This is the metal I like to listen to more than anything else. It's like if you take Iron Maiden's rhythm, Rob Halford's voice, maybe Blitz' voice (of Overkill), and Iced Earth's machine-gun guitars and drums, and then tossed them together. Man...it's just great metal. Period.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars rampaging hordes of olde, February 9, 2006

By 

Matthew Thompson "madholepunch" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advance & Vanquish (Audio CD)

verily, these mystical tales of power and magic shall transport you unto forgotten realms of strength and fury! if you dare, prepare your heart and mind to endure the cosmic firestorm so that you might return, changed and triumphant, to restore wonder in this soulless land...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good ol' heavy metal!, January 21, 2005

By 

Jack C_01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advance & Vanquish (Audio CD)

This certainly takes you back to the old days, it's hard to believe that this CD is from 2004, it's certainly inspired by the old Judas Priest records, but 3 Inches do give this dose of heavy metal their own sound. The opening riff for the first track kicks in almost immediately. The dual vocalist thing hits you from the beginning, the singer can really hit the high notes as Rob Halford would, while the second vocalist does odd bits of growling in the background. The opening track is a brilliant dose of classic heavy metal and makes you want to hear more.

The rest of the album continues in the same vein, with kicking nostalgic heavy metal tunes that don't let up until the end, though the first track remains one of the highlights. The lyrics are almost all fantasy or metal based, including the "Upon the Boiling Sea" trilogy running through it, while the strangely named Wykydtron is about a cyborg. You might be thinking that this must be cheese and more cheese, and you're pretty much right, a lot of this is cheesy, but it's the music that counts, and if it's excellent heavy metal you're after, this wants your attention. I really can't think of a weakness to this, the two-pronged vocal attack could put some people off, especially the growling of Cam Pipes, but this really is pretty much flawless. Out of nowhere comes 3 Inches of Blood, keeping old school heavy metal alive!

Stand-out tracks: Fear on the Bridge (Upon The Boiling Sea I), Deadly Sinners, Wykydtron