Three Inches of Blood - Battlecry Under a Winter Sun

Canada's Three Inches Of Blood throw their lot into the "shameless heavy metal retread" sweepstakes with the suitably titled Battlecry Under A Winter Sun and a simple motto: "Let metal be your master!" With song titles like "Ride Darkhorse, Ride," "Destroy the Orcs," and "Heir to the Chaos Throne," there's no disguising the group's humongous debt to Ronnie James Dio's school of sword and sorcery lyrics. And with their piles and piles of galloping, staccato riffs, these and album highlights such as "Headwaters of the River Blood," "Curse of the Lighthouse Keeper," and the absolutely hysterical "Balls of Ice" also drink liberally from the fountain of Iron Maiden -- even if they avoid the metal legends' epic approach to songwriting in order to wrap up in two or three minutes. Read More