3 Inches of Blood
Anthems for the Victorious EP
Century Media

When 3 Inches of Blood released Here Waits Thy Doom in in 2009, their first album without growler Jamie Hooper, I was excited to hear what the band could do with falsetto master — and beard champion — Cam Pipes alone at the helm. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the effort, and the album became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Whatever soul (if you can have such a thing in heavy metal) the band had left with Hooper, apparently, which wasn’t what the Vancouver headbangers needed after guitarists Sunny Dhak and Bob Froese took their amazing riff-wielding power with them to Pride Tiger after 3IoB put out what stands as one of my favourite metal albums of all time, 2004′s Advance and Vanquish. However, I’m still a huge fan, and when I caught them live a few months back it was the inclusion of this EP’s two songs, “Lords of Change” and “Strength of the Grave,” into their set list that roused me from my drunken stupor. It sounded to me, at that time, that 3IoB had re-captured that battle cry of yore, that snappy, traditional thrash, that blood-spilling, leather n’ spikes mayhem that made me fall in love with ‘em in the first place. Now, listening to this EP, there’s no doubt that 3IoB have mounted the red-eyed steed once again as they gallop through both songs at a furiously purposeful pace, slaying thine enemies where they stand before soaring through the sing-along choruses with swords held high. But the victory is short-lived, the anthems spoiled by a hollow, St. Anger-like production, which, given the apparent return to form, doesn’t make much sense at all. That being said, I’m excited about the next full-length, especially if these songs are any indication about where the band is going next. Hell, it’s even nice to see a sweet cover again, one that hearkens back to Edward Repka’s Advance and Vanquish genius.

Listen to “Strength of the Grave” from Anthems for the Victorious!

#14 Big Business – Mind the Drift

With the addition of guitarist Toshi Kasai for Mind the Drift, Big Business became a three-piece, but they really made a name for themselves as a two-piece, so consider this another notch in the beard for the mighty duos. Now, I don’t just love Big Business because I share the same last name with bassist/vocalist Jared Warren, or because Warren and drummer Coady Willis are now fixtures for the mega-awesome kings of stoner fuzz, Melvins, but those reasons certainly don’t hurt. No, what I love most about Big Business is that, musically speaking, they portage the terrain of mountainous sound with crooked backs and bleeding hands, stopping only to feast on the raw buffalo carcasses scattered along the way. I’ve always dug the crushing, and at times melodious, sludge n’ fuzz of Big Business and I still dig it, even if they have added a guitar to the arsenal.

Listen to “The Drift” from Mind the Drift!

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I realize there’s still over a month to go in 2009, but hardly anything good ever comes out in December. The rock n’ roll release season always seems to peak in October and after that it’s a slow slide into a new year and, hopefully, new good music. So I like to get a jump on my end of the year list in the hopes that it will provide you with some killer bands and albums to catch up with before the year is out. It also gives me a chance to try and remember all the new shit I heard over the last 11 months. That’s not an easy task. In fact, some of this stuff may not even be from 2009, but so it goes.

As with all best-of lists, this one has its disclaimers. The big one here is that this list includes only the albums I listened to, so if I didn’t include Slayer’s new album or Immortal’s new album it’s because I haven’t heard them…yet. So don’t get your panties in a knot if there are some glaring omissions. And, of course, this list is exclusive to the music I listen to; it’s my favourites for the year…and hopefully some of yours.

Oh, and why 39? Because it’s one better than 40. If 666 is the number of the beast, think of 39 as the number of the beard.

All right, enough screwing around. Let’s get to it…

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