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| by Cosmo Lee |
It’s hard to believe that 3 Inches of Blood ever got tagged as “metalcore.” Minus vocals, they’ve always played traditional metal. The “metalcore” tag came from the fact that one of their two vocalists screamed. Also, perhaps people confused their Iron Maiden-inspired guitar harmonies with those of metalcore, which ripped off Swedish melodic death metal — which ripped off Iron Maiden.
Now the screaming guy is gone, and there’s absolutely no doubt: 3 Inches of Blood are heavy metal, the kind that aficionados capitalize, with zero crossover appeal. The New York Times once described the art-metal set (Pelican, Sunn O))), etc.) as “not your older brother’s metal crowd.” Well, this is your older brother’s metal crowd. It’s denim, patches, beer, shredding. There are a few reasons why this kind of metal has not only survived, but is also experiencing a resurgence. It has no shtick; it requires no outsider approval; it thrives on its own terms.
This album is proof. Now that Cam Pipes’ falsetto has no competition, his bandmates are free to surround him with suitable riffs. The soul of Here Waits Thy Doom (Century Media, 2009) lies in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Think Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, and their glass-shattering singers. “Preacher’s Daughter” glows with Hammond organ and hearty choruses. “Call of the Hammer” gallops with the verve of classic Metallica. Jack Endino dials up a gorgeously dry, natural production. It’s woody in every sense of the word. This record is an oaken slab with spikes of pure metal. It’ll last a while.
Whoa, this band suddenly got a lot better. Not bad at all.
I am inching closer to checking these guys out. I forgot that Endino did the production. He also did the new Skeletonwitch which I keep confusing with 3IoB. I really enjoyed his production on death is this communion and toxic holocaust – fast and fuzzy but the overall heaviness isn't really diluted. I am also a fan of some of his 90s grunge stuff. The fuzzy-ness is pretty important to me these days, I think it really helps the mood of the album. I am tiring on clean/polished chest-beating sounds.
The first two albums are amazing…with 'Battlecry Under a Wintersun' the stand out.
I guess I'm the only one who misses Jamie Hooper(aka screaming guy). It was a nice contrast and keep them from being a bit too generic for me. Plus, he added to the live performance.
I went ahead and picked this up last night. I guess this post pushed me over the edge. I hate saying this but the vocals are going to take some getting used to. I hate saying that because some of the stuff that passes for metal vocals these days involve far less talent than the vocals on this album. But at least initially these vocals don't suit my tastes. I definitely appreciate the throwback sounds but I was caught off guard by the almost glamness of Preacher's Daughter (it is like Halford singing an AC/DC song, but the sum is not greater than the parts). I really like the song writing in general though. Century Media must be concerned with the metalcore tag this band has(d) because the packaging sticker is all about the "traditional metal" angle. I will give it some more time, but I don't think I can listen to Preacher's Daughter again.
It took me literally years to get used to Cam Pipes' vocals. Once I acquired the taste, though, it's been good times ever since. "Preacher's Daughter" is one of my favorite songs this year!
I'm curious about the packaging sticker. Do you still have it around? It's funny that metalcore would be a selling point five years ago and a liability now – or that traditional metal would be a selling point now. Funny how labels ride trends.
The sticker reads "Raised in hell, forged by fire and harder than Krupp Steel, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD return as one of the biggest defenders of traditional heavy metal". The sticker was on the plastic wrapping which I threw away, but I found a blurry pick of album cover w/ the sticker on ebay. I think it is a pretty decent sales pitch for moving away from the metalcore tag.
Preacher's Daughter? Please don't make me listen to that track again. Maybe I didn't have it up loud enough?