There's a reason fans have come to their shows wearing Viking helmets and brandishing both real and plastic swords. Born out of a love for pure metal, weaned on a diet of fantasy and mythology, 3 Inches of Blood have been slaying the infidel and defending the faith for nearly eight years.
In that time, they've released two albums and splattered the ground with crimson streaks while on tour with Satyricon, Black Dahlia Murder, Motorhead and Cradle of Filth. These are mighty accomplishments for dedicated warriors from Vancouver, British Columbia, a region that's not exactly the Camelot of heavy metal. And with their new album, Fire Up the Blades, 3 Inches of Blood have surpassed even their own manly exploits, crafting a baker's dozen of anthems and stormers that crash, rip and roar like a Medieval skirmish.
"With this album, the blacksmith is heating up the blades and we are preparing for battle," says vocalist Jamie Hooper. "We are forging the steel that we'll use to annihilate the heavy metal posers, and in every town we play, the streets will run red with their blood."
Throughout Fire Up the Blades, 3 Inches of Blood demonstrate that the best way to stay ahead of the heavy metal curve is to write music that comes from the heart and sounds nothing like the horde of bands tapping into the latest trends. To that end, they draw fuel from their favorite artists, including Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Manowar and Enslaved and compile it all into their own lethal potion. Once more, 3 Inches of Blood demonstrate great skill for riding galloping steeds into fiery realms of crunching riffs and banging heads, but Fire Up the Blades is darker and more aggressive than 2004's critically acclaimed Advance and Vanquish. "Demon's Blade" starts with a crushing, technical thrash passage and peaks with twin guitar harmonies over throat-shredding vocals and "Infinite Legions" features hailstorm blast beats and orchestral swells between martial riffs.
"This album is heavily influenced by low quality beer, bong rips and listening to black metal in the dark," Hooper says. "It doesn't sound blatantly black metal, it still sounds like us. But it's a faster, more intense version of us."
Fire Up the Blades marks the recording debut of four out of six of the bandmembers. Hooper, who co-formed the group, and co-vocalist Cam Pipes are the only soldiers to return from the last battle, and they're joined by guitarists Shane Clark, Justin Hagberg, bassist Nick Cates and drummer Alexei Rodriguez. But even though the lineup is different, the aesthetic remains the same, and the skill level actually eclipses that of the last record.
"Sometimes when bands change members it seems like big step backwards, but this was a major step forwards for us," Hooper says. "Everyone new who came in was at their best, which forced everybody else to pick up their game a little bit and we came up with things we just couldn't have done before."
Also adding to the skull-splintering vibe was Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison, who produced the record. Jordison became a fan of 3 Inches of Blood in 2004 when he filled in for Satyricon on tour and 3 Inches of Blood opened. "When he found out we were doing another record, he offered his services, and we were like, ‘Dude, of course!" Hooper says. "He added a fresh perspective to the songs and helped us work on some parts and arrangements. Also, he's a beer drinking encyclopedia of cult black metal, so we sat around drinking Pabst Blue Ribbons talking about necro black metal the whole time, which was awesome."
3 Inches of Blood started writing Fire Up the Blades in late 2006 and composed many of the songs in a house they rented in Tacoma, Washington early this year. They entered the studio with Jordison in October and recorded at three locations in Vancouver -- The Armory, Mushroom Studios and Hipposonic -- before finishing up at London Bridge Studios in Seattle.
"Our engineer saw a ghost, but other than that, everything went smoothly," Hooper says. "No one was tearing their hair out or yelling at each other. We were just drinking, having a good time and churning out the metal."
Hooper co-formed 3 Inches of Blood in Victoria, British Columbia in 2000. In addition to a batch of musicians who are long gone, he recruited singer Cam Pipes, whose high pitched shrieks both contrast with and compliment Hooper's vicious growls. In 2001 the group released its debut, Battlecry Under a Winter Sun, which was released by a label owned by a local record store. When the shop closed, 3 Inches of Blood self-financed additional pressings of the album, which laid the foundation for the band's epic style of music with songs like "Destroy the Orcs," "Skeletal Onslaught" and "Headwaters of the River of Blood."
"When we started, a lot of us came out of this DIY scene where most of the bands had some sort of message," Hooper says. "I support that, but we wanted to be band that was just about good times, and would just cut loose. The music that we love and puts smiles on our faces is classic metal. And, we're all fans of shitty movies and fantasy novels, so we decided to use that stuff as well in our music."
Compelled by the band's dedication and determination, Roadrunner Records signed 3 Inches of Blood and in 2004 released Advance and Vanquish, an album that brought to mind the best of bands like Running Wild, Grave Digger, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Diamond Head. As triumphant as it was, its creation was a long and bloody process. "We went through about 12 records worth of bullshit making that," says Hooper. "On the first day of recording, our drummer and bass player quit. So we had to replace them with guys who basically learned the songs as we were recording them. And, after we recorded, our two guitar players quit. But then our new guitarists [Hagberg and Clark] joined and we were like, ‘Alright, it's go time.'"
Which brings us back to Fire Up the Blades, an album that combines fist-tight musicianship, rib-sticking riffs and more monsters and mayhem than a game of Dungeons & Dragons. No longer, do 3 Inches of Blood sing about pirates and cyborgs, now they're more rooted to a dark, mystical era when great beasts roamed the land, and a man was defined by the strength of his armor and the power of his sword.
"The general theme of the whole thing is that we are all united in battle," Hooper says. "But a lot of the songs are also about the imagined Christian demons coming forth from their imaginations and reaping the whirlwind, so to speak. It's more of a post-apocalyptic doom scenario. ‘'Mad Max' barren wasteland, everybody's fucked kind of stuff."
While 3 Inches of Blood are eager to see how fans react to their new album, and are even looking forward to the return of the kids with swords and shields, they're also curious about what new kinds of lunatics will pop up at their shows. "The music's more extreme now, but I don't know how much more extreme some of these fans can get," Hooper says. "In Cincinnati, we had a fellow come onstage with a pig's head on a stick. He fell down and dropped the head and we had to soccer ball kick it off the stage. Then, in Fargo, North Dakota, a guy came on holding a severed deer's head over his head. The tongue was sticking out and blood was dripping all over his face. How much more metal can you get than that?" Take a running dive into The Blades, and find out.
19/02/2009 - RR DIGITAL SPECIAL EDITIONS AVAILABLE MARCH 2ND Here's your chance to own some of the best Roadrunner Records has to offer with the digital releases planned for March 2nd! With full special ... 06/05/2008 - 3 INCHES OF BLOOD WANTS TO CHAT WITH YOU! Hey Goatriders!Members of 3 INCHES OF BLOOD will be doing a live chat exclusively with members of the Goatriders Horde (3 INCHES OF BLOOD's seriously ... 24/04/2008 - KILLER NEW VIDEO FROM THE PIT MASTERS DEVILDRIVER DEVILDRIVER have just released EP 'HEAD ON TO HEARTACHE' and are currently ripping up the UK on the Defenders of the faith tour with label ... 22/04/2008 - DEVILDRIVER RELEASE DIGITAL EP 'HEAD ON TO HEARTACHE' DEVILDRIVER have a brand new EP available digitally NOW for your aural pleasure! Entitled HEAD ON TO HEARTACHE, the EP features previously unreleased tracksDamnin 24/04/2008 - THE OFFICIAL 3 INCHES OF BLOOD FAN CLUB IS HERE!! PLUS HEADLINE DATE CHANGES Defenders of heavy metal faith, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD are launching their very own fan club, dubbed THE GOATRIDERS HORDE.The Goatrider 17/04/2008 - AKERFELDT AND PORTNOY BACK AGAIN! It's time not only for part 3 of the MIKE PORTNOY AND MIKAEL AKERFELDT interviews but also part 4! Yes is seems that the DREAM ... 09/04/2008 - MIKE PORTNOY AND MIKE AKERFELDT- PART 2 Continuing the series of interviews with Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) and Mike Akerfeldt (OP 08/04/2008 - DEVILDRIVER- BOUND BY THE ROAD!!!! VIDEO UPDATE 1 DEVILDRIVER are currently on the road in the US, tearing various places now arseholes and no doubt scaring numerous security personel with their giant mosh ... 03/04/2008 - 3 INCHES OF BLOOD ADD HEADLINE SHOWS 3 INCHES OF BLOOD have announced that they have added some dates to their headline run around the DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH tour with 01/04/2008 - OPETH REVEAL COVERART FOR UPCOMING ALBUM 'WATERSHED' Swedish prog metallers OPETH have revealed the artwork to 'WATERSHED', their follow-up to the ctically aclaimed 'Ghost Reveries', which will be released June of this ... 13/03/2008 - 3 INCHES OF BLOOD VIDEO PREMIERS ON SCUZZ.COM If you head on over to SCUZZ.COM, you will be able to see the brand spanking new video from Canadian battle metallers 11/03/2008 - 3 INCHES OF BLOOD BAG FAVOURITE METAL BAND AWARD IN THEIR HOMELAND On Sat, March 8 the Candaian Independent Music Awards were held in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week and we are proud to announce ... 12/02/2008 - DEVILDRIVER CONFIRM WARM UP SHOW The mighty DEVILDRIVER have lined up a low-key, warm-up show at Wrexham’s Central Station prior to their guest slot on the ‘Defenders Of The Faith’ ... 12/02/2008 - ROADRAGE 2007 - THE RETURN If you cast your maind back to last year, you will remember that we released another in the series of ROADRAGE DVD's, featuring a plethora ... 12/02/2008 - KERRANG AND METAL HAMMER YEARLY POLLS RESULTS Kerrang's 'Readers Poll', and Metal Hammer's 'Critics Albums of The Year' results for 2007 were published a couple of weeks ago. Here is a short recap in case ... 12/02/2008 - 3 INCHES OF BLOOD TAKEOVER 4Q RADIO Canadian Metallers 3 Inches Of Blood have taken over 4Q Radio's latest show. To listen to the show, click here. 12/02/2008 - DIVINE HERESY: Houston Concert Footage Available Fan-filmed video footage of DIVINE HERESY — the new Los Angeles-based band featuring former FEAR FACTORY/current ASESINO guitarist Dino Cazares alongside drummer Tim Yeung (ex-VITAL ... 12/02/2008 - 3 INCHES OF BLOOD FORCED TO CANCEL DATES; DRUMMER Canadian metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD are extremely disappointed to announce that they have been forced to cancel a number of shows, after drummer Alexei ... 12/02/2008 - QUESTIONS FOR ATREYU AND 3 INCHES OF BLOOD? Any burning questions for Atreyu? Think they're trying to revive a party metal scene now that metalcore is dead? Alex Varkatzas prentends to be a ... 12/02/2008 - JOEY JORDISON ON 3 INCHES OF BLOOD Joey Jordison produced the latest 3 inches of blood album, check this video out to for his thoughts on the band and what it was ... 22/04/2008DEVILDRIVER RELEASE DIGITAL EP 'HEAD ON TO HEARTACHE' DEVILDRIVER have a brand new EP available digitally NOW for your aural pleasure! Entitled HEAD ON TO HEARTACHE, the EP features previously unreleased tracksDamnin 12/02/2008FIRE UP THE BLADE We had to make sure that the artwork for 3 Inches of Blood's next album had enough blades on it - have a look HERE and ... 12/02/20083 Inches Of Press Listen up, deadly sinners, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD has been getting quite a bit of press lately... First off, webzine Pivotal Rage conducted an interview ... 12/02/20083 Inches For The Weekend Head straight to the MUSIC section and get your ears round a brand new free MP3 download of the finished version of 'Deadly Sinners' from ... 13/03/20083 INCHES OF BLOOD VIDEO PREMIERS ON SCUZZ.COM If you head on over to SCUZZ.COM, you will be able to see the brand spanking new video from Canadian battle metallers 12/02/2008The History Of 3IOB So what do you know about 3 Inches Of Blood? Other than the fact that the new album 'Advance And Vanquish' is coming out on ... 12/02/2008Headbanging Tracks With all the tracks now confirmed, the tracklisting for the forthcoming double disc Headbangers Ball volume 2 release is set as follows: Disc 1: 1. ... 19/02/2009RR DIGITAL SPECIAL EDITIONS AVAILABLE MARCH 2ND Here's your chance to own some of the best Roadrunner Records has to offer with the digital releases planned for March 2nd! With full special ... 12/02/2008A Perfect 10 "REAL METAL IS BACK!" exclaims the first line of HitThePit's review of 3 Inches Of Blood's debut, Advance And Vanquish. Yes, the first review on ... 24/04/2008KILLER NEW VIDEO FROM THE PIT MASTERS DEVILDRIVER DEVILDRIVER have just released EP 'HEAD ON TO HEARTACHE' and are currently ripping up the UK on the Defenders of the faith tour with label ... 12/02/2008Rumours And Truths A lesson in 3 Inches Of Blood, as told by frontman Cam Pipes: "I'm sure you've all heard various gossip about the band over the ... 12/02/20083IOB Gospel please do read the following exerpts from reviews of 3 Inches Of Blood's Advance And Vanquish release... "I've got absolutely NO business liking this album. ... 12/02/2008HIS MASTERS ROADRUNNER COLLECTION The forth coming ROADRAGE DVD will now be exclusively available through HMV from the 12th of September. 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Expect ... 12/02/2008The Draw Of Canada Question: The first 3 Inches Of Blood photos to ever be put in the band's PHOTO GALLERY on this site came from who? Answer: Mark ... 12/02/2008The Video Situation The cameras will be rolling in July. There are four upcoming Roadrunner videos set (or about to be set) to be taped in July (or ... Trial Of Champions Trial Of Champions Fire Up The Blades Fire Up The Blades Advance and Vanquish Advance and Vanquish Promo Live Shots Press NME 'Advance And Vanquish' CD review KERRANG! 'Advance And Vanquish' CD review Recent Article about 3 Inches of Blood in Anvil Magazine Recent Article in Outburn Magazine about 3IOB Other
