By JESSICA A. BOTELHO

With the release of their fifth album this spring, it’s apparent that Canadian heavy metal band, 3 Inches of Blood, congealed their sound by listening to prominent acts that were born during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the 1970s and 1980s, such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, UFO and Rainbow.

In fact, the five-member band said the title of their latest album, Long Live Heavy Metal, was inspired by Rainbow’s 1978 album, Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll.

For 3 Inches of Blood vocalist Cam Pipes, who said they recorded the album in Vancouver with producer Terri Murray, celebrating the music is what it’s all about. Through their music and live performances, Pipes said fans and newcomers alike can expect “high octane, no frills heavy metal.”

“We keep it simple, but we put on an energetic show,” he said. “We’re not going to fool you with unnecessary theatrics. We let the music speak for itself. It’s what we love to do and we’re able to convey that, so our fans get into it, as well.”

While he’s big into metal, Pipes doesn’t listen to his own music. According to him, once he finishes recording, the only time he hears his songs is when he’s gigging.

“I’ll listen intently when we’re mixing, but I tend to not even listen to the recording if I don’t have to,” he said. “I’d rather listen to what other people are doing.”

But, make no mistake about it. He has a lot of respect for the material he and the band write as a group.

“This is music that we love to play,” Pipes said. “I’ve played lots of different kinds of music over the years but it’s always been a mission of mine to make a living out of it. It’s my career, but it doesn’t feel like work.”

Although Pipes said the way they came up with their band name isn’t particularly interesting, it is humorous, as it stemmed from someone cutting themselves and exaggerating how much blood pooled up.

“Somebody heard those words strung together and said, ‘That would be a good band name,’ and it stuck,” Pipes said. “The more we sat on it, the more confident we felt about it. Once the songs came together, we were like, ‘OK. This really makes sense.’”

Originally formed in 2000, 3 Inches of Blood recently added bassist Byron Stroud, formerly of the band Fear Factory. Though Stroud didn’t appear on the album, he’s been touring with Pipes, as well as the rest of the band, including rhythm and lead guitarist/vocalist Justin Hagberg; lead and rhythm guitarist Shane Clark; and drummer Ash Pearson, since they released Long Live Heavy Metal on March 26.

Also, during the spring, 3 inches of Blood completed a six-week national tour alongside six other metal acts, such as Devil Drivers, Pending Doom and Retched, for the Metal Alliance Tour.

“Most of the bands could pull in a decent headlining tour of their own so I think by combining us the tour was that much bigger,” said Pipes.

After headlining a European tour, they’ll tour the United States in June before heading to their Canadian stomping grounds in July.

“I’m sure we’re going to be super busy through the year,” Pipes said.

To learn more about the band, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/threeinchesofblood.