### 3 Inches Of Blood: Advance and vanquish

#### 11/01/11 || Habakuk

Why this hasn’t been reviewed, but the two follow-ups have is beyond me. When “Advance and vanquish” came out, it was accompanied by quite a bit of hype, “saviors of traditional heavy metal and everything” praises included, if I remember correctly. Well, not here. Which is good in a way, as now, seven years later (SEVEN!?), we can apply our opinion of truth™ in a more educated hindsight. Back in ’04, I’d probably have scored this an instant 9 or something, now let’s find out how it stood the test of time, shall we?

We shall. In short, the guys had basically taken a classic heavy/power metal approach, complete with lyrics that perused literally all metal clichés, tongue only loosely in cheek – this has never been a joke band in any way, although little bits of humor shine through. They then added a modern sound, full-on, double bass-laden drumming and a second singer who did some screaming in addition the over-the-top high-pitched vocals. And they already had a pretty cool name to boot.

So much for the facts. Now for the assessment: Nothing on “Advance and vanquish” sounds half-assed. This is no “attempt” at capturing the spirit of balls-out 80s metal, it’s all there and taken to a modern level. The heavy production works wonders, and the frantic, high-pitched vocals are crazy in their all-in nature. Normally, I’d hate this shit (King Diamond…), but it’s just so perfectly done, I can’t help but enjoy it. Compromising surely isn’t something you can blame this band for. What can we blame them for anyway? The songwriting is pretty ace, I have to say. There’s something great in every song. Even if not all kick off on a high mark, they still grab you with a great lead section or chorus. Check out a few reviews and you’ll find that almost everyone lists different songs as their favorites. And it’s true, the material here is chock full of quality riffage, ballsy melodies and awesome sing-along stupidity.

There is only one downside: This album gets seriously overpowering after a few listens. It’s too consistently great for its own good. You are pounded with a constant barrage of in-your-face-ness, and it doesn’t help if you enjoy all kinds of extreme music. “Advance and vanquish” overpowers with piercing catchiness. It just gets too much to spin this album in its entirety after a while, though it’s only 46 minutes long. The double vocal delivery isn’t exactly innocent of this.

It’s a good thing there are so many fantastic individual songs which can be enjoyed greatly in small, prescribed doses. So, worth multiple and repeated listens – most definitely. An all-time favorite – no fucken way. I always need a solid grounding of Catacombs after this.

- Information
- Released: 2004
- Label:
- Website: www.3inchesofblood.com
- Band
- Cam Pipes: vocals
- Jamie Hooper: vocals
- Sunny Dhak: guitars
- Bobby Froese: guitars
- Brian Redman: bass
- Matt Wood: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Fear on the bridge (Upon the boiling sea I)
- 02. Deadly sinners
- 03. Revenge is a vulture
- 04. Dominion of deceit
- 05. Premonition of pain
- 06. Lord of the storm (Upon the boiling sea II)
- 07. Wykydtron
- 08. Swordmaster
- 09. Axes of evil
- 10. Crazy nights
- 11. Destroy the orcs
- 12. The phantom of the crimson cloak
- 13. Isle of eternal despair (Upon the boiling sea III)