3 Inches Of Blood Feel Dirty Around Goths

Vancouver's 3 Inches Of Blood — currently on the road in support of fellow black metal behemoths Cradle Of Filth and Finnish glamsters The 69 Eyes — are clearly the black sheep of the tour.

"We feel like a bunch of dirt bags next to all of these goth people," jokes vocalist Jamie Hooper while navigating the wilds of Vermont in a van with a broken-down heater. "We have to up the quotient of PVC and eyeliner in the band... there are certainly a lot of leather pants on this tour."

Oddballs or not, 3 Inches Of Blood have received rave reviews nightly by pummelling the audience with a raging Judas Priest-meets-Slayer attack entirely unlike 69 Eyes and their H.I.M.-inspired low-key metal. Hooper and crew are still modestly shocked by the praise though.

"People come up to us and say that they just came to see us. It's flattering to hear people say that they spent all of this money on a ticket and then leave before Cradle Of Filth, but it proves we're doing something right."

Utilizing the tour as a means of introducing the world to tertiary effort Fire Up The Blades (Roadrunner), due out on May, 3 Inches are reinvigorated by a new lineup featuring guitarists Shane Clark and Justin Hagberg, bassist Nick Cates and drummer Alexei Rodriguez. Hooper and fellow longtime vocalist Cam Pipes are audibly excited about their input on the 10 songs that encompass Fire Up The Blades.

"We were nervous at first because all the musicians on the records are different from those on [2004's] Advance And Vanquish. We were wondering if we were gonna still sound like 3 Inches Of Blood. It doesn't... it's better. We've picked up the pace on some songs, so it's thrashier, with more double-kick, but also some laid-back rock songs. The fast songs are more pummelling than they used to be. We've been listening to too much black metal over the years, if there is such a thing."

While stepped up in ferocity, Hooper assures fans that the typical 3 Inches Of Blood topics of post-apocalyptic scenarios and beer-drinkin' are still prevalent. The album is completed aside from final artwork, and the band will tend to their own headlining tour once the stint with Cradle Of Filth winds down in late March. For now, though, they'll have to stick to opening slots.

"It doesn't matter as long as we're playing," says Hooper. "It's weird and refreshing to get back out on the road playing every night."When you're in the studio not playing shows for a couple of months, you're like, 'What the hell? Wasn't there something I was supposed to be doing tonight?' Not only that, but it seems like everyone in the band has a side project too... stuff like lounge music. After a few weeks of that, you're like, 'Fuck, I've gotta play some metal!'"

Here are 3 Inches Of Blood's Canadian tour dates with Cradle Of Filth and 69 Eyes:
Jan. 29 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Jan. 30 St. Catharines, ON @ Level 3
Feb. 8 Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
Feb. 9 Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
Feb. 10 Kelowna, BC @ The Well
Feb. 11 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom