3 Inches of Blood

3 Inches of Blood, the Victoria, British Columbia-based heavy metal band, exploded onto the scene in 1999. Their sound, deeply rooted in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, quickly garnered a dedicated following. After a hiatus ending in 2015, the band roared back in 2023 with a lineup featuring Cam Pipes, Justin Hagberg, Shane Clark, Nick Cates, and Ash Pearson.

Early Days and Battlecry Under a Wintersun

The band`s genesis was an unplanned reunion gig for a previous project involving Jamie Hooper, Sunny Dhak, Bobby Froese, Geoff Trawick (drums), and Rich Trawick (bass). The songwriting process, focused on a traditional metal style, proved so fruitful that they decided to forge ahead as a new entity. A demo found its way to Steve Bays (keyboardist for Hot Hot Heat), who suggested adding clean vocals. This led to Cam Pipes overdubbing on their first EP, Sect of the White Worm, and ultimately joining the band permanently.

Their debut full-length, Battlecry Under a Wintersun (2002), a collaborative release with Teenage Rampage Records and Fashion Before Function (later remastered and re-released by the band`s own Minion Music), achieved moderate success in Canada, charting on national college radio and winning Metal Album of the Year at the 2002 Canadian Independent Music Awards. A support slot with The Darkness in the UK catapulted them onto the international stage, earning critical acclaim within the underground metal scene and leading to a record deal with Roadrunner Records in 2004.