Fire up the blades and turn up the sound!
Power metal, there's really nothing quite like it, heavy and speeding riffs that crunch and grind like industrial machinery, military and skilful drumming and screaming vocals that sound delightfully devilish. Traditionally the sound of Europe and Scandinavia , the music born of fantasy and a love for pure metal has bred names legendary and great forever written down in the halls of fame and becoming inspiration for many others to follow. Usually bands born of this genre do hail from the frosty and picturesque lands of Finland, Sweden and Norway but, every so often, bands from other countries try their hand to make their mark and sound every bit as skilled and powerful as the upholders of the tradition. Britain has Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to our name, America have Iced Earth who, unless you actually read a biography on them, sound as though they should have come from Sweden and you would never have guessed they were American. Now Canada offers a new release from their 'defenders of the faith' 3 Inches of Blood, entitled 'Fire up the Blades'.
3 Inches of Blood have taken their sound from a mixture of influences such as Iron Maiden, Man O War, Judas Priest and Enslaved and added a little of their own musical twists to create a lethal potion of formidable, head banging sound. They have an undeniable talent for creating crunching and blood thirsty power metal riffs, practically living and feeding off of them as the music dives from one fresh riff to the next, jumping over incredible triple drum beats and roaring, aggressive bass lines. 'Fire up the Blades' sees a new line up and a fresh attitude to the compositional and production techniques for 3 Inches of Blood with Joey Jordison of Slipknot producing the new album. Vocalist Jamie Hooper says that 'he added a fresh perspective to songs and helped us to work on some parts and arrangements' and that he was a 'beer drinking encyclopedia of cult black metal' which helped put a fresh edge on the recording.
The first track 'Through the Horned Gate' starts off with a sinister riff that fades in gradually and repeats itself over a military snare drum pattern, sounding altogether very war like and constantly building tension as the guitar notes at the end of each riff gradually hang over, as if just itching to explode into something heavier. However it is in actual fact the prelude to the next track 'Night Marauders' and with a final drum fill the guitars explode into manic rhythmic patterns and crazed vocals take over the speed of the track guiding it forwards and entering a total frenzy of sound. The chorus is utterly infectious, true head banging material as the guitars race each other with lightning speed and musical agility and the vocals scream over the top. The skill 3 Inches of Blood have for creating real metal anthems is truly displayed here and the listener is instantly enslaved in true metal heaven.
'Forest King' has a fantastical approach to its sound, at times the structures of the riffs sound almost alike Inflames' and Wintersun's style of writing. The guitar lines are much more melodic and soloist in their structure and it's left up to the vocals to provide most of the pushing power behind the driving force of the sound, though the guitars and bass still bring through all the imagery behind the emotions of the song with fantastic wintry sounding passages that ring mystic decadence and sheer majesty.
'The Black Spire' has all the anthematic appeal and power of Iron Maiden blended with something of the black metal nature and performed with all the killer attitude and skill that we have come to expect from 3 Inches of Blood right from the very beginning and its repeated overdriven march, through to the deafening choruses filled with unbelievable fills and layers of sound. The result is pure and unrivalled head banging heaven and you can be sure that with such a potent recipe for success that 3 Inches of Blood will create a storm.
It's no surprise that fans come to their shows adorned with swords and Viking hats, they know where to come for pure and honest battle metal, they hunger for powerful riffs and real feel-good sound and they know that 3 Inches of Blood can deliver. With their latest offering, Three Inches of Blood can be assured that their following will just keep on growing.