3 Inches Of Blood Are Survivors

10/09/09 3:30pm

by Pete Richards (CHARTattack)

Canadians are tough, resilient buggers, aren't we?

Take Vancouver's 3 Inches of Blood, for example.

Since 2007, they've lost vocalist Jamie Hooper to throat complications, got booted from Roadrunner Records, gave drummer Alexei Rodriguez the heave-ho after a highly publicized backstage scrap with Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler and just weeks ago they found out their former bassist Brian Redman died.

How do they cope? Not only have 3IOB pressed on, they've bounced back with Here Waits Thy Doom, a cock rockin' good album that continues to solidify their place in the thrash and NWOBHM revival.

"It wasn't difficult," now sole vocalist Cam Pipes says about jumping back into the studio. "I think the whole process was a lot easier than the last one. It took a lot less time and we were probably better prepared."

Although ex-screamer Hooper's signature roar is noticeably absent from the album, guitarist Justin Hegberg stepped in to add balance to Pipes' King Diamond-like pitch.

"Justin doesn't sound like Jamey," Pipes explains. "But he is more adept to doing gruff sounding vocals, as opposed to what I do.

"We focused more on what everyone does as their strong suit. Justin is primarily a guitar player, not a singer. So the majority of vocal duties and the writing of lyrics is left up to me."

As a result, Here Awaits Thy Doom sounds like an authentic mixture of classic thrash, heavy metal and rock.

Judging by the album's thunderous solidity and sheer enjoyableness, the band certainly seemed to have found themselves in their current lineup.

Which begs the question: will Hooper ever come back?

"It's unlikely," Pipes says humbly. "Given the lack of improvement in his voice and that he straight up told us his voice just can't handle playing shows every day like we do when we're on tour.

"Rather than just leave us in limbo and make us wait for what may or may not be in terms of his voice getting better or to what it used to be, we just let him step aside."

3IOB are currently on the road for an extensive North American tour which began in Vancouver and will route back up into the east coast of Canada in October.

Catch 3 Inches of Blood on these upcoming North American dates:

Oct. 14 Halifax, NS @ Paragon Theatre
Oct. 15 Moncton, NB @ Manhattan
Oct. 16 Montreal, QC @ Studio JPR
Oct. 17 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
Oct. 18 Kingston, ON @ Bar None
Oct. 19 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
Oct. 20 London, ON @ Call the Office w/ Saviors
Oct. 21 St. Catharines, ON @ Mikado w/ Saviors
Oct. 22 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club w/ Saviors
Oct. 24 Thunder Bay, ON @ Black Pirates Pub w/ Saviors
Oct. 25 Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert Arms w/ Saviors
Oct. 26 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina w/ Saviors
Oct. 27 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room w/ Saviors
Oct. 29 Revelstoke, BC @ Regent Inn w/ Saviors
Nov. 13 Spokane, WA @ BLVD
Nov. 14 Missoula, MO @ The Palace Lounge
Nov. 15 Murray, UT @ Murray Theater
Nov. 16 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
Nov. 18 Sioux Falls, SD @ Nutty's North
Nov. 20 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
Nov. 21 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Nov. 27 Farmington, NM @ Gator's
Dec. 2 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Vet's Hall