Roadrunner "Advance and Vanquish" - 3 Inches of Blood

To say that Vancouver's 3IOB had the North American Paganizer lead wouldn't be totally inaccurate. With a already renown history of toiling away in Canada's frozen wastes "Advance & Vanquish" was a North American metal record forged in the volcanoes of Mt. Doom. The vibe is mythic -- courtesy of Maiden-y riffage, vocalist Cam Pipes Halford-channeling shrieks and the sort of axe-slinging action that truly deserved the Ed (Megadeth) Repka cover emblazoned on front.
Amon Amarth could embrace these guys as kindred warriors as their longboats pulled into Vancouver harbor from the grim and frozen Nordlands. There would be much mead (and some local microbrew)to be chugged round the pyre.
Yes, it was the Sunny Dahk and Bob Frose guitar team that gave 3" a bloodsoaked blusey blast-off from the first installment of a "pirate trilogy" that occurs on the album under the Jolly Roger of "Fear On The Bridge". Cannons are a blazin' and flintlocks a firin' -- those dudes in Running Wild look like a bunch of poofs by comparison.
From there, it's "Deadly Sinners", without a doubt The Blood's best known moment and resounding live anthem. A victorious gore-run through the enemy's village to bask in their women's lament and all that John Millius "Conan" kinda stuff.
As history would have it, that particular guitar horde went on a Ring Quest shortly after the Neil (Queensryche, Heaven's Edge!) Kernon produced album was released and 3IOB were due to change the face of metal as we know it.
The addition of the thrashier guitar grinders Shane Clarke and Justin Hagberg saved the day and the band road forth; bringing The Blood's metal to the masses via the like of "Swordmaster" and the Tolkein-referencing "Preminition of Pain". It also set the stage for the much more intense "Fire Up the Blades" era as 3IOB made a point to get away from the "hot-rodded" aspects of its sound ala "Destroy The Orcs". With bloodied axes, they demanded the seriousness with which they approached their metallurgical art.
Like Kull, Conan and Robert E. Howard unbound, 3 Inches of Blood came onto the bloodied land as warriors, took their blows and emerged victorious. Not bad for a band who started touring on this album on a club tour with Metal Church and polished matters off opening a one-off Cali show with Iron Maiden.
"Advance and Vanquish" indeed.