In an unexpected announcement last week, Vancouver heavy metal stalwarts 3 Inches of Blood have decided to call it a day. Despite some recent silence from the band’s social media outlets with regards to any new material or tours, this still comes as an absolute shock — particularly to the Canadian metal scene, of which the band were one of the most well known exports. That being said, they’ve announced one final hometown show, so those anywhere nearby wanting to see them one last time are in luck. Details, thoughts, and more after the jump!
I’d like to start by saying part of me was made further upset about this by how the band chose to go public with the news. Rather than simply posting a breakup note on Facebook as most bands tend to, the band announced a big announcement (why is this now a thing?) coming later in the day, which immediately stirred up rumours of a new tour or album. And why wouldn’t one expect either, or even both, of those things? It’s been three years since their last, and sadly now final, effort, Long Live Heavy Metal, and it seemed the usual gap between albums had passed. It’s enough of a bummer that one of the best bands to come out of Canada is phoning it in for good, but stirring up a frenzy of anticipation immediately beforehand only made the news hit harder.
Unfortunately this is not the sort of news you were wanting to hear but here goes.
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It is now that we come to announce that 3 Inches of Blood has decided to part ways.
Naturally, people will have questions as to why we have collectively made this decision. While our reasons are personal, just know we are all still good friends, but it is just time to move on.
All of us will continue to pursue musical projects, so refer to our social media pages to keep up with that.
We are eternally thankful to our fans, friends and family that have stuck by us through thick and thin and always believed in us. You are the reason this band got anywhere and kept us going. We’d also like to thank our musical peers and former 3 Inches of Blood members for all your love and support over the years.
We’d like to put one last stamp on the band’s career and end it in grand style. Our final performance will be in our hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at the fabulous Commodore Ballroom. We’re pleased to say that, Fire Up the Blades-era bassist, Nick Cates will be playing the show with us. As well, we intend to deliver other special surprises that will make this a night to remember.
Regardless, things could have been worse — the post does specify that all the members will continue on making music through other outlets, and it thankfully appears that there isn’t 3 inches of bad blood between them. Plus, in some ways it does make sense for them to hang up their coats while they’re ahead, rather than fizzling away after releasing a string of inevitably less great albums as the years go by. Ultimately, the bombastic and incredibly fun record that is Long Live Heavy Metal is an excellent note to end their run on discography-wise, and they’ve also announced a big two-set Vancouver farewell show on the 7th of November at the Commodore Ballroom, for anyone lucky enough to be in the area around then.
In the meantime, here’s to one of the best bands the Great White North’s put out in years. My next pint at a show is in their honour.
-AH