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3 Inches Of Blood are a band that for some reason incite a lot of controversy. They have a kind of nu-metal sounding name, which made me avoid them for a long time, but there is nothing mallcoreish here at all. Advance And Vanquish is their sophomore album, and it kicks a lot of ass.

Some people insist on classing this band as 'non-metal' because of the slightly screamy backing vocals the band uses here and there, which is plainly ridiculous. I had heard so much harping about this band's 'metalcore' sound I was prepared for it to be terrible, but I found myself alternately banging my head and scratching it over what the hell those people were hearing. Yes, the screams are a little different, but for fuck's sake they don't sound any worse than Tomas Lindburg's yapping on every At The Gates album, and they are not the dominant vocal style here. For everyone who thinks this band is somehow 'metalcore' due to some backing vocals…well, I don't get you. This is riffy, catchy traditional metal in the vein of old Running Wild or similar German bands from the mid-80s. The primary vocalist sounds uncannily like a young Jon Oliva and so the greatest similarity here is to older Savatage like Sirens. Say what you want, but at least 3 Inches Of Blood don't sound like every other fucking band out there, and they manage to rock pretty fucking hard. There are no real classic tracks here, though "Axes Of Evil" is pretty badass. But there are no stinkers either.

3 Inches Of Blood are a kickass old-school band with a few bits of flash to make them stand out from the crowd. They are not a great band, but they are very good, and they are just getting going, so we might have great things to see from them yet. If you like classic metal and don't mind some wacky vocals, then don't be put off by the naysayers and check this band out.