3 Inches Of Blood "Fire Up the Blades" (Roadrunner)
By Eric Chon
Monday. Jul 16, 2:31 PM
The battle cry is as vibrant and war-torn as ever.

2004’s Advance and Vanquish was as much a surprise as a sorely needed kick in the ass for modern metal. The self-important stylings of metalcore and screamo was dooming the scene to bland music and whiney lyrics that robbed us of our strength, replacing it with a limp wrist (with razorblade held aloft as long as someone was watching). 3 Inches Of Blood reintroduced the blazing glory of bands such as Judas Priest and King Diamond to a jaded and bored crowd, thirsting for a return to demons, wizards, and barbarian kings minus the pomp and frillery of power metal.

Fire Up the Blades follows up nicely as a continuation of the band’s high-octane metal, slashing away at the non-believers and providing 13 anthems for true metalheads to crush their enemies with. And despite having replaced four of the six members (with only vocalists Cam Pipes and Jamie Hooper returning), the battle cry is just as vibrant and war-torn as ever.

But let’s be frank, if you didn’t like Advance and Vanquish, you’re not going to dig Fire Up the Blades. And really, that’s fine because we don’t want you anyway. But if the combined howling voice of Cam Pipes and the crushing scream of Hooper sets your blood aboil, then there is no greater release than gripping your battle-axe and putting “Demons Blade” on the stereo.

Newcomers Just Hagberg (guitars), Shane Clark (guitars), Nick Cates (bass), and Alexei Rodriguez (drums) do a more than admirable job of keeping the banner flying. If anything, the riffs and rhythms have become more complex and compelling, allowing the sound to grow. Each song takes on a personality of its own, never repeating the same tired melodies. For a band that is steeped in their own influences, this is no small accomplishment.

The medieval themes return in full-force… and would you have it any other way? Demons, kings, and mythical creatures all play prominent roles in the music. And while power metallers like Dragonforce or Rhapsody may represent the heroic knight in shining armor, 3 Inches Of Blood embrace the bloodied, serrated edge of an Orc’s blade instead. When it comes to destroying the enemies of metal, there is no act too cruel, no deed too evil for them, and Fire Up the Blades captures this perfectly. If I were to sum up 3 Inches Of Bloods’ metal philosophy, only one phrase would work:

“To crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and to hear the lamentations of their women.”
www.3inchesofblood.com
www.roadrunnerrecords.com

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Eric Chon

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