3 Inches of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom Review

An outsider would peer into the ridiculous world of 3 Inches of Blood — which is inhabited by orcs and advancing scimitar-wielding hordes — and giggle. But 3IoB's fight-and-persevere presentation makes fantastical and allegorical the banality of holding together a metal band through 10-plus years of marauding small clubs around North America in a van.

Their latest is the first to include none of the original members, with aptly named Cam Pipes moving to lead vocals upon the departure of screamer Jamie Hooper. None of this internal shuffling has any real effect on the air coming out of your speakers: this is high-quality-metal product, with great riffs and tunes that bore their amusing titles into your forehead like railroad spikes and rush to overdrive on every track, always threatening to ask, "Are we joking?" Pipes's glottal assault is constantly at the breaking point, a strangled-chicken vibe that, granted, can fatigue after a while — but who cares when the results are this awesome?...full text Remember the days of denim and leather? When the extreme amount of hairspray used caused a hole to open in the ozone layer? Remember when rock rocked? Well I don’t. I was born in 1988 when all of this was happening, and so were many of you reading this. For those of us who weren’t around in the glory days of thrash, we have some bands who are willing to help us know what it was like; one of the best being 3 Inches of Blood.

Images of Accept spring up in my mind as the album begins with “Battles and Brotherhood.” Cam Pipe’s pipes are very reminiscent of Udo Dirkschneider. He growls at a very high pitch, but it’s not girly, it’s very manly. The backup vocalist and guitarist Justin Hagberg lends his more death metal vocals in some songs, including “Silent Killer,” to break up the extreme pitches Cam hits. Each word is clear and understandable from both vocalists, which makes this a great album to pull quotes from. Some of my favorites are “Will you be there to rock in hell?” from “Rock in Hell” and “On ourselves we rely/ find the courage/ to last another day” from “Fierce Defender.”

The most interesting aspect of “Here Waits Thy Doom” is the different types of songs they make. The first four songs are a mixture of thrash metal music and power metal lyrics and vocals. These songs were a bit less chaotic and more carefully constructed than they were in “Fire up the Blades.” The fifth song “Preachers Daughter” was a bluesy rock song about a bad girl corrupting the men folk of the town. To some, it may seem corny. To me and others who love rock n’ roll and not just metal, it’s great. I miss plain ol’ rock n’ roll sometimes and I enjoy hearing the occasional rock song by a new band, instead of listening to the old rock songs on the radio over and over again....full text ound: If you’ve missed vocalists like Rob Halford or King Diamond ruling the metal scene, then the appearance of 3 Inches of Blood was certainly a welcome addition to the music world. Vocalist Cam Pipes is a throwback to another era, and his falsetto-styled cry is fairly courageous considering that the Scott Weiland-style of singing has been popular since the 1990’s. That being said, if you spent any time in the 1980’s, you’re likely to find more than a few likeable qualities to 3 Inches of Blood’s latest record Here Waits Thy Doom. The record is the first to put most of the focus on Pipes’ vocals, and the guttural screams of Jamie Hooper (who is apparently on hiatus for medical reasons) have been set on the backburner. The resulting sound is more “vintage” (if the ‘80’s can be considered such a term) than ever.

While it is certainly Pipes’ vocals that garner the most attention at first, the guitar team of Justin Hagberg and Shane Clark are just as essential in creating the traditional metal sound. The Iron Maiden and Judas Priest links are always present just from the very nature of the dual guitar work, but Hagberg and Clark deserve such lofty comparisons. In pretty much every single track on Here Waits Thy Doom, you’ll hear at least one section that boasts impressive guitar harmonization. “Fierce Defender” is a standout in this area, particularly because it does have a similar structure to Maiden’s classic “The Trooper.”

Although the reason behind the lack of screams has more to do with the fact that Hooper was left physically unable to perform such a duty without injuring his vocal chords, the band actually works better without them. Yes, it might be going against any hardcore vibe they’re striving for, but the concept behind 3 Inches of Blood works much better if they stick to the classic metal sound. Some might claim this makes the band obsolete, but the addition of screams would not have added much to the 11 new tracks....full text