Advance and Vanquish – 3 Inches Of Blood

VITAL STATISTICS

ALBUM: Advance and Vanquish

BAND: 3 Inches Of Blood

MEMBERS: Cam Pipes (Vocals), Jamie Hooper (Vocals), Sunny Dahk (Guitar),  Bobby Froese (Guitar), Brian Redman (Bass), Matt Wood (Drums)

RELEASE: 2004

GENRE: Thrashy Power Metal.

FULL-LENGTH: 50:33

LABEL: Roadrunner Records

3 Inches Of Blood are a strange band. Their dual vocals provide a stange dynamic for this thrashy canadian band. Pipes uses a screaming clean vocal style, like something you’d see a goblin warrior sing, while Hooper is a growling orc. As you could probably tell from the album cover, the band focus heavily on battle themes. This is their second album.

1. FEAR ON THE BRIDGE (UPON THE BOILING SEA I) (3:14)

VOCALS-The opening song is the start of the three-part pirate series. The first part dealing with a a battle on the seas. I quite like the lyrics and think it really gives the band some identity. Cam and Jamie show how well they can work together. The general structure of the song is ok.

Lyrics – 8.0

Delivery – 6.0

Composition – 6.0

GUITAR- The guitar work in this song doesn’t really show what Sunny and Bobby can do. The rhythm and riff are ok but there isn’t really a solo during this song. Tempo is good.

Melody – 6.5

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition - 6.5

BASS- Now Brian shows how strong a bassist he is this song and the others to come. His bassline is solid and follows the guitars well. It also delivers a good drive.

Rhythm - 7.0

Composition – 7.0

DRUMS- Ok technique by Matt, pretty good work on cymbols throughout the song and a solid bridge. For the most part it does it’s job.

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 6.0

VOCALS – 20/30

GUITAR – 19.5/30

BASS – 14/20

DRUMS – 13/20

TOTAL – 67.5

2. DEADLY SINNERS (4:31)

VOCALS- The single of the album. The song is a ode to heavy metal using a fictional army that cannot be defeated by their enemies (other genres). As for most of the album , the dual work vocal work is really good. Both are very strong. The structure is quite good, good verses and a short chorus.

Lyrics - 6.5

Delivery – 8.0

Composition – 8.0

GUITAR- A stronger showing. Starts of with a nice intro and keeps it going for the verses and there is also a nice brakdown. A short solo breaks it up a bit. The chorus is only ok but the song has a good rhythm and good structure changes.

Melody – 7.5

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 7.0

BASS- A fairly basic bassline for this song but there is some good work during the chorus. Ok drive and tempo.

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 6.0

DRUM- Fairly good work overall. Nothing really spectacular but good rhythm work and some nice pace shifts keep it lively, at it’s best in the bridge.

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 6.0

VOCALS – 22.5/30

GUITAR – 21/30

BASS – 12.5/20

DRUMS – 13/20

TOTAL – 69

3. REVENGE IS A VULTURE (3:26)

VOCALS- As you could tell from the title, revenge is the theme from this song and the lyrics aren’t bad. Cam dominates this song and delivers a strong performance.

Lyrics – 7.0

Delivery – 7.5

Composition – 6.5

GUITAR- Pretty good work in this song. I love the melody in the verse, it’s catchy and gives the song some uniqueness. Other than that the song is pretty competant, ok solo, ok rhythm etc.

Melody – 8.0

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 6.5

BASS- Nice Bassline which follows the guitar’s rhythm completely. Also drives well.

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition -7.0

DRUMS- Good drum rhythm for this song with a strong intro and outro. Bookends are always good.

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.0

VOCALS – 21/30

GUITAR – 21/30

BASS – 14.5/20

DRUMS – 15/20

TOTAL – 71.5

4. DOMINION OF DECEIT (4:18)

VOCALS- The band’s Pagan Power song as stated by Hooper. The lyrics are pretty ok and the vocal work is about the same. The structure is a bit wishy washy, which is a shame because the music is great.

Lyrics – 6.0

Delivery – 6.5

Composition – 5.5

GUITAR- Sunny and Bobby show their stuff on this song. Strong play, especially in the verses and chorus and the tempo changes are fantastic. Good tempo.

Melody – 8.0

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 8.0

BASS- Brian follows the guitar bueatifully during the verses. there is some drop off in the chorus but the ending is great and the bassline becomes much more prevalent as the song goes on.

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.5

DRUMS- Wood shows good technique throughout the song. The rhythm is quite fast, especially at the start.

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.5

VOCALS – 18/30

GUITAR – 23.5/30

BASS – 15.5/20

DRUMS – 15.5/20

TOTAL – 72.5

5. PREMONITION OF PAIN (4:34)

VOCALS- This song is about a soothsayer alerting his king of forthcoming doom, only to be ignored. The lyrics are probably one of the strongest on the album. Overall the perfomance is strong by both but Cam outshines James a bit. Good Tempo.

Lyrics – 8.5

Delivery – 7.5

Composition – 7.0

GUITAR- This song has some brilliant solos. A small solo starts it off before a fantastic outro solo finishes it off. Good verses acompany the melody. Another good thing to hear is not the normal galloping rhythm which is a nice change. Strong structure.

Melody – 9.0

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 7.5

BASS- Fairly strong performance by Redman. Ok verses, basic chorus, very good pre-chorus, ok drive.

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 6.5

DRUMS- Probably Wood’s best effort. Nice intro which leads into the slower tempo song that changes up quite a few times with some fantastic technique.

Rhythm – 8.5

Composition – 8.0

VOCALS – 23/30

GUITAR – 24/30

BASS – 14/20

DRUMS – 16.5/20

TOTAL – 77

6. LORD OF THE STORM (UPON THE BOILING SEA II) (5:05)

VOCALS- Second part of the pirate trilogy. Lyrics deal with a storm on the seas and then a mutiny on the ship leading to the captain being thrown overboard. Vocals are fairly good. The flow between the two isn’t quite there though, which doesn’t lead to the best tempo.

Lyrics – 7.5

Delivery – 6.0

Composition – 5.5

GUITAR- Pretty strong stuff here. Good intro, verse and chorus with a strong solo. Some good changes in the structure. Nice work overall.

Melody – 8.5

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 7.5

BASS- Similar to the guitar, good perfomance on the whole with nice bookends again. Bass stands out well which I like to see.

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 7.0

DRUMS- Strong work overall. Good double kick at the start with a fast tempo, a couple of slower tempo changes help to break up the song.

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.5

VOCALS – 19/30

GUITAR – 23/30

BASS – 14.5/20

DRUMS – 15.5/20

TOTAL – 71.5

7. WYKYDTRON (3:52)

VOCALS- The song is very terminator-ish. It’s about a cyborg who originally is created to serve mankind, only to become out of control. Good perfromance by Cam again. Ok tempo and structure.

Lyrics – 7.0

Delivery – 6.5

Composition – 6.0

GUITAR- Nice stuff here by Sunny and Bobby. Gets really good during the end when they dual it out and deal out a good solo. Fast and good structure.

Melody – 7.5

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 7.0

BASS- Redman follows Sunny and Bobby well during the song and does a good job.

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 6.5

DRUMS- Good work again. Wood really has found some rhythm and shows some nice technique with both the hands and the feet.

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 7.0

VOCALS – 19.5/30

GUITAR – 21/30

BASS – 13.5/20

DRUMS – 14.5/20

TOTAL – 68.5

8. SWORDMASTER (4:24)

VOCALS- Lyrics are fairly good, about a knight who deals out revenge with his mighty blade. Decent work by the vocalists with a nice structure.

Lyrics – 6.5

Delivery – 6.0

Composition – 6.0

GUITAR- Really good intro and ok work for the rest of the song. Decent overall.

Melody – 7.0

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition - 7.0

BASS- Unfortunately, Bass is not as noticeable in this track as other others. Ok overall.

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 6.0

DRUMS- Nothing spectacular, just ok overall.

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 6.0

VOCALS – 18.5/30

GUITAR – 21/30

BASS – 12.5/20

DRUMS – 12.5/20

TOTAL – 64.5

9. AXES OF EVIL (4:28)

VOCALS- About greed, in the form of a powerful pair of axes. The lyrics are pretty good. A Dominating perfomance by Pipes. Normal structure.

Lyrics – 7.0

Delivery – 7.5

Composition – 6.5

GUITAR- Fast rhythm with a good chorus and a strong solo.

Melody – 7.0

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.0

BASS- Nice perfrom by Brian, fairly good follow job.

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 6.5

DRUMS- Slower tempo in this track. Like other songs, Matt gets better as the song goes.

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 6.5

VOCALS – 21/30

GUITAR – 22/30

BASS – 13.5/20

DRUMS – 13.5/20

TOTAL – 70

10. CRAZY NIGHTS (3:18)

VOCALS- A pretty basic battle theme for this song so nothing spectacular there but Cam does a superb job on this song, sometimes you don’t even notice Hooper. Good tempo and Structure.

Lyrics – 6.0

Delivery – 8.5

Composition – 6.5

GUITAR- Pretty good stuff, does a good job in flowing with Cam and his vocals. Nice solo.

Melody – 7.0

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 7.5

BASS- Brian follows the guitar well as usual, nice performance.

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 7.0

DRUMS- Great drumwork by Wood. The good hing about this performance is that it doens’t feel static. It’s structure is very melodic and not just a backing rhythm. Good technique.

Rhythm – 8.5

Composition – 8.0

VOCALS -  21/30

GUITAR -  22/30

BASS -  14.5/20

DRUMS -  16.5/20

TOTAL – 74

11. DESTROY THE ORCS (2:21)

VOCALS- This short song is a re-record from their first album, Battlecry Under A Wintersun, Inspired by the Lord Of The Rings and is pretty ok, nothing fantastic, just solid.

Lyrics – 6.5

Delivery – 6.0

Composition – 6.5

GUITAR- A good fast galloping verse defines this song, good bridge also helps it along.

Melody – 7.5

Rhythm – 7.0

Composition – 6.0

BASS-Follows Beautifully as usual, great chorus and verse, with a strong drive.

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.5

DRUMS- Fine work by Wood. Double kick is quite good during the bridge and he shows some good fast technique.

Rhythm – 8.0

Composition – 7.0

VOCALS – 19/30

GUITAR – 20.5/30

BASS – 15.5/20

DRUMS – 15/20

TOTAL – 70

12. THE PHANTOM OF THE CRIMSON CLOAK (3:11)

VOCALS- OK lyrics about a monster that feeds on human flesh. Both deliver a good perfromance. Fairly decent structure and tempo.

Lyrics – 6.0

Delivery – 7.0

Composition – 6.0

GUITAR- Decent work, pretty solid, could have been better though with sub-par solo and chorus.

Melody – 6.0

Rhythm – 6.0

Composition – 6.0

BASS- Pretty ok bassline, basic chorus drops the score down a bit.

Rhythm – 6.0

Composition – 6.0

DRUMS- Strongest part of this song. Drives strongly and delves into some double kick at times. Nice technique.

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition – 6.5

VOCALS – 19/30

GUITAR – 18/30

BASS – 12/20

DRUMS – 14/20

TOTAL – 63

13. ISLE OF ETERNAL DESPAIR (UPON THE BOILING SEA III) (3:51)

VOCALS-The final part of the pirate trilogy which finishes up this album. The captain becomes a castaway on a deserted island, forever destined to defend his treasure. Good pperfromances by Cam and James to end with a strong composition.

Lyrics – 7.0

Delivery – 6.5

Composition – 7.0

GUITAR- Very much a soloist’s song. Three major solo’s dominate the song and all are quite strong. The rhythm is fairly strong also.

Melody – 8.0

Rhythm – 7.5

Composition -7.0

BASS- Redman finishes up with a good follow job again. Good drive and a nice bassline.

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 6.5

DRUMS- Nice job on the skins to finish up. Nothing crazy though.

Rhythm – 6.5

Composition – 6.5

VOCALS – 20.5/30

GUITAR – 22.5/30

BASS – 13/20

DRUMS – 13/20

TOTAL – 69

ALBUM VERDICT-

I quite like this album. There are many great songs and the musically, the band is very, very solid. I’ve always had a bit of a penchant for Power metal and I’m a thrasher at heart so it couldn’t go wrong there. Preminition Of Pain was the strongest song but there were a couple like Dominion of Deceit and Crazy Nights that were nearly as good. A very solid album, that just falls into second, but if you haven’t heard of them and you like thrash or power metal, give them a go.

OVERALL- 70

STATISTICS

VOCAL SCORE- 262/390 (67%)

GUITAR SCORE- 279/390 (71%)

BASS SCORE- 179.5/260 (69%)

DRUM SCORE- 187.5/260 (72%)