3 Inches Of Blood
Fire Up The Blades

Appearing like a bolt from the blue with the debut "Battlecry Under A Winter Sun" that already hinted at the direction the Canadian band would take, and endlessly praised with the second "Advance And Vanquish"; a mix of thrash and heavy gallops purely rooted in the Eighties, revisited in a modern key.

The 3 Inches Of Blood return with a completely revamped rhythm section and "Fire Up The Blades," an eagerly awaited album by all the band's fans that continues on the same path taken by the Canadian sextet in their early works, without any changes, continuing with their personal tribute to the old glories of the Eighties like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Overkill, Exodus, and similar.

"Fire Up The Blades," produced by Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison and recorded at the Armoury Studios in Vancouver, continues in the same vein as previous works, partially putting aside the more melodic version of the band already seen in "Advance And Vanquish," giving more speed and incisiveness to the tracks.

The band's lineup is entirely revamped except for the two vocalists Cam Pipes and Jamie Hooper. The neurotic and lightning-fast rhythms of Justin Hagberg and Shane Clark's guitars merge together, creating a homogeneous, devastating, and incredibly effective effect perfectly supported by ex-Walls Of Jericho drummer Alexei Rodriguez on drums.

The album begins with the intro "Through The Horned Gate" which preludes a fast and violent "Night Marauders"; the voices of the two singers, one sharp and the other gritty, intertwine with each other, adding that touch of originality that has now become the band's trademark. The 3 Inches Of Blood continue to hit hard on their instruments and do so in the best of ways, just listen to the subsequent "The Goatrider's Horde" and "Trial Of Champions"; tracks capable of creating the effect of a real punch in the stomach.

The rest of the album flows quickly and linearly through furious thrash-oriented gallops and sudden rhythm changes, without giving the listener's ear even a hint of respite, moving through the epic "God of the Cold White Silence " and "Forest King" which alone are worth the price of the album, and concluding in the best way with the battle horses "Black Spire" and "The Hydra's Teeth. The only negative point of the entire album is identified in the track "The Great Hall Of Feasting", perhaps the only piece on the record that strays from the usual patterns of the band's barbaric violence, slightly slowing the album's pace; surely an experiment by the six Canadians that did not fully succeed but certainly does not lower the quality of the entire work.

In conclusion, "Fire Up The Blades" is an album that, unlike its predecessor, requires a few more listens to fully convince but, nevertheless, it is equally capable of evoking the golden years of the heavy and thrash metal scene; an album that, if not for the modern production and the choice to use two vocalists with different singing styles, could easily be compared to the best things conceived by the sacred monsters of the Eighties.

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