3 Inches of Blood was a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, last consisting of Cam Pipes, Justin Hagberg, Shane Clark, and Ash Pearson, none of whom were original members of the band. Their music was strongly influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal movement. History Early years, and Battlecry Under a Wintersun The group began when Jamie Hooper, Sunny Dhak, and Bobby Froese, along with Geoff Trawick and Rich Trawick filling in on drums and bass, got together to do a one-off reunion gig for an old group of theirs, but things went so well with writing new material in a traditional metal style that they decided to continue under a new moniker. Rich Trawick's roommate, Steve Bays (keyboard player for Hot Hot Heat), heard the demo of the band's first recording and suggested having his friend Cam Pipes overdub some clean vocals to it. Pipes overdubbed additional vocals to what became the band's first EP, Sect of the White Worm, and became a permanent band member. Their debut album Battlecry Under a Wintersun was recorded in 2002 and released in cooperation with Teenage Rampage Records and the label Fashion Before Function. (It was later remastered and re-released by the band under their own label, Minion Music.) The album had moderate underground success in the Canadian market, ranking on national college radio charts and winning Metal Album of Year at the 2002 Canadian Independent Music Awards. The band garnered international exposure when its UK distribution label put them on as a support slot for a tour with rock band The Darkness. This exposure garnered critical attention and acclaim in the world of underground metal, and they were signed by Roadrunner Records in 2004. Advance and Vanquish 2004-2005 In 2004, Geoff Trawick and Rich Trawick left the band due to personal differences with the rest of the band and professional differences with Roadrunner Records. Matt Wood of Vancouver doom/sludge/noise band Goatsblood, and Brian Redman replaced them. Soon after, just after recording the band's second album Advance and Vanquish, Sunny Dhak and Bob Froese left the band. Wood was replaced by Alexei Rodriguez. (Dhak, Froese and Wood and, with Mike Payette, then founded the band Pride Tiger.) Dhak and Froese were replaced by Justin Hagberg, who had previously played with Pipes in Allfather, a black metal band, and Shane Clark. Roadrunner put out an