Album Review

3 Inches of Blood - Long Live Heavy Metal3 Inches of Blood – Long Live Heavy Metal

Canadian heavy metal act 3 Inches of Blood have had a lineup change for every single album they have released over their long spanning 11 year career; it’s finally got to the point where there are absolutely no original members left in the band as of 2002, unless you count Cam Pipes who joined just prior to the release of their first album “Battlecry Under a Winter Sun”, he and Jamie Hooper’s vocals were one of the main reason’s my interest in the band has lasted this long, but prior to the release of the previous album “Here Awaits Thy Doom” Hooper left the band leaving Pipes as the sole vocalist for the band. With yet more lineup changes on this album leading off from an album that in my personal opinion was possibly the blandest, most boring album in the bands back catalogue trailing far behind my all time favourite “Advance and Vanquish” can the lads recapture the magic or are they destine to descend further on the downward spiral?

Now I’ve had my rant the band has just stuck a big middle finger in my face as this record is right up there taking the best elements from all of their previous albums and using that to create a range of varied material injecting heavier parts and the more technical abilities of the musicians all in one little package. I have to admit it’s something I wasn’t ready for, I wasn’t expecting this album to be, well what it is which is freakin’ amazing. “Dark messenger” starts out with a folksy acoustic intro before launching into this drop dead heavy mesh of lightly distorted chord sequences, dotted around this though are some really slick riffs and licks so subtly placed that if you’re not paying attention you may miss. “Leather Lord” is the high octane side to 3IOB that everyone has grown up with but with an exceptionally sinister twist to it, deep growls at various points, heavier distortion and a much unexpected breakdown towards the end.

The thing that’s made this such a successful triumphant return to form is they’ve gone back to the drawing board because at 1 time they were quite the formidable popular metal act at one point in time, after “Fire Up The Blades” though the band were fading away with “Here Awaits Thy Doom” not really helping the bands case but then this took their really warrior themed metal to the next level and really brought the metal, songs like “4000 Torches”, “Leave It On The Ice” and “Men of Fortune” absolutely kill it with every listen, without raping power chords and breakdowns and instead playing around with tone and depth in the form of riffs, licks and ranged vocal lines.

What is needed now is a case of high profile supporting tours and a hell of a lot of international promotion to regain the recognition the band lost a few years ago, but I have good faith it will happen plainly due to the record being as strong as it is that the band will rise again and if the material continues to flow will manage to keep their career on track for a while longer, even if I feel that this kind of music is on the downfall in terms of popularity, only time will tell!

4/5

Review by James Webb

 Band Members

Cam Pipes
Justin Hagberg
Shane Clark
Ash Pearson
Byron Stroud
 Track Listing
1. Metal Woman
2. My Sword Will Not Sleep
3. Leather Lord
4. Cheif And The Blade
5. Dark Messenger
6. Look Out
7. 4000 Torches
8. Leave it on the Ice
9. Die For Gold (Upon the Boiling Sea IV)
10. Storming Juno
11. Men of Fortune
12. One for the Ditch
 Band Related Links
Three Inches Of Blood Facebook
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?