3 Inches of Blood - Fire up the Blades Review
by Billy D. Gamble
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The third album from defenders of the heavy metal faith Vancouver's 3 Inches of Blood, Fire Up The Blades is an epic journey from start to finish. It is packed with face melting air guitar anthems, fists in the air, capable sing-alongs, and kickass metal tunes. Fire Up The Blades combines Rob Halford's falsetto vocals, Iron Maiden melodies, Bay Area thrash riffs, all turning it into catchy but still f*cking heavy tunes. The album also marks the first album that Slipknot skinsman Joey Jordison produced entirely alone in the studios. The production value of the album is crisp and all around has very good quality.The album opens with a lighter, more trebly Metallica soldier salute. This is a great build up into "Night Marauders". The song delivers an epic journey capable of crowd surfing antics, fist-pumping phenomenons, and maybe even some circle pitting mosh-action. Second in command vocalist Jamie Hooper's high guttural screaming compliments the falsetto of frontman Cam Pipes. Every song on the album more or less includes some sort of face-melting solo(s in some cases,) where in many cases new strings men Justin Hagberg and Shane Clark harmonize to create classic Iron Maiden sound with a thrash twist. The songwriting on the album is classic. It is lyrically as epic as it sounds, with mighty songs about battles, demons, gladiators, and Valhalla. The album also has a definite Black/Viking metal influence specifically with tunes such as "Demon's Blade" and "God of the Cold White Silence", where the tempos resembles that of Enslaved or Amon Amarth. The album also includes some keyboard sections. On songs like "Trial of Champions" and "God of the Cold White Silence" an organ/piano section is included and harmonizes with the Iron Maiden style NWOBHM guitar and apparent bass. It all makes for a victorious triumph of battle-ready heavy metal.
3 Inches of Blood's Fire Up The Blades
1. Through the Horned Gate
2. Night Marauders
3. The Goatrider's Horde
4. Trial of Champions
5. God of the Cold White Silence
6. Forest King
7. Demon's Blade
8. The Great Hall of Feasting
9. Infinite Legion
10. Assassins of the Light
11. Black Spire
12. The Hydra's Teeth
13. Rejoice in the Fire of Man's Demise
CD Info and Links
3 Inches of Blood - Fire up the Blades Rating:9.0
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