3 Inches of Blood - Advance and Vanquish
Roadrunner Records
Oldschool mixed with Hardcore
13 songs (50:41)
Release year: 2004
3 Inches of Blood, Roadrunner Records
Reviewed by Brent
Album of the year

Wow… What a breath of fresh air into the metal scene. This year has been full of them. The new Iced Earth in my opinion was their best work to date, the new Shadows Fall is their best, Jon Oliva’s Pain shows that the Mountain King is still capable, and this album does no less for these guys as their debut album on Roadrunner hit me like a tank. This album is so old school it makes me want to look for them in the 80’s metal section at my favorite record store. But actually, they formed in Vancouver, BC in 2000. Think of them as a mixture of Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, King Diamond, and Accept. One of their singers (they have 2) sounds like King Diamond (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate), Udo Dirkschneider (Accept, U.D.O.), and Justin Hawkins (The Darkness). The other guy does the screaming hardcore like vocals, which fit fine for this album. I mean, this band does really try to sound like they should have been around in the 80’s, even getting Ed Repka (artist that drew the early Megadeth album covers) to do the cover for Advance and Vanquish.

This album has it all, screaming high notes, the thrash type vocals mixed in, balls out thrash guitar playing, and ripping solos. They also don’t have the lyrical content that most new bands have either, they write more about pirates, medieval times, and even some outer space themes. The first song is the 1st of 3 in the series of songs about adventures on the high seas, “Fear on the Bridge (Upon the Boiling Sea pt. 1)”, sets the stage for the rest of the album. The second song on our travel back in time is “Deadly Sinners”. One of my favorite songs on the album, and I believe the first song I ever heard by them before the album came out. “Revenge is a Vulture” is next; this one really reminds me of Accept. “Dominion of Deceit” is the fastest song on the album thus far, as it rips from beginning to end. As we ride on, on our noble steed of course, we come to “Premonition of Pain”, they should play this song at that Medieval Times restaurant while the “knights” are dueling, as it would tie into that perfectly. Next on our voyage is “Lord of the Storm (Upon the Boiling Sea pt. 2)”, which continues the story of pirates and armadas. Next on to the year 4055, “Wykydtron” comes to life, this song is about a killer robot named the same. “Swordmaster” is next, and I’ll bet if they had stereos in Camelot, they would have definitely blasted this tune. Up next on this never stopping trip back and forth through time is “Axes of Evil”, which is about a castle that is under siege, and the ailing king can’t lead, so a warrior rises from the mist to defend his land. “Crazy Nights” is up next, good double bass parts. “Destroy the Orcs” is next, and will definitely be in my stereo the next time I play Warcraft as the humans. “The Phantom in the Crimson Cloak” comes up next, great song. “Isle of Eternal Dispair (Upon the Boiling Sea pt. 3)” is the last song on the album, and I like how the album began with the first of the trilogy, and ended with the last.

This album is outstanding in every aspect of the word. I don’t think they will be able to top themselves on the next one, I haven’t heard their first album or e.p. because I can’t find them, but if they are half as good as this one, you had better believe I will aquire them the second I see them. If you don’t have this cd already and are a fan of old school metal, then what in the hell are you doing? GET IT! If you still need more convincing, then check out this link for a new ecard they put out. It features a couple of songs, as well as the cover artwork.

Killing Songs :
Not a weak song on the album
Brent quoted 90 / 100
Danny quoted 92 / 100
Mike quoted 71 / 100
Jeff quoted 74 / 100
Jason quoted 80 / 100
Jay quoted 80 / 100
Other albums by 3 Inches of Blood that we have reviewed:
3 Inches of Blood - Long Live Heavy Metal reviewed by Olivier and quoted 87 / 100
3 Inches of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom reviewed by Boris and quoted 75 / 100
3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up The Blades reviewed by Dylan and quoted 93 / 100
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