The artist settled in on my left forearm again, the purring of the tattoo machine a relaxing hum against the backdrop of the Wu Tang Clan. And he really was an artist - the tattoo on my shoulder still gets significant amounts of approving comment. The shop smelled of antiseptic Dettol and green soap with a faint incense smell behind. The music changed - to two guitars playing a duet, in a style made popular by Iron Maiden and Wishbone Ash before them. Then the drums came in, a harder drum, a late-metal Metallica inspired double bass assault. As the singer's voice came in, high and shrieking in a classic tribute to 80s era Metal Blade recording artists, I turned to the other artist (who was not as engaged) and asked "who is this?" "3 inches of blood" he replied, and I knew the name. They'd toured with my favourite band recently, but this is the first time I had actually heard them. I made a mental note to check this one out further. Sure enough, as I stood in the doorway of famed rock bar Hell's Kitchen, I saw in a poster for upcoming shows that they would be playing the following Saturday and Sunday, with a friend of mine's side project as a supporting act. I was so there. The band features two singers: Cam Pipes, who does high and clear singing in the aforementioned Metal Blade Style, but counterpointed by screamer Jamie Hooper's growling vocals in a later metal style. It also features two guitarists who took what Iron Maiden pioneered in the dual-guitar lead stylings, Justin Hagberg and Shane Clark, and took it light years ahead in terms of heaviness. Bass is rounded out by Nick Case, and Ash Pearson is in for drums, having replaced a fired drummer (who got into a physical fight with Saxon backstage). The day of the show I went to get my hair cut in a hair dresser/tattoo shop combo because it was owned by the wife of the drummer I knew and they would have had the poster in their window (to remind me of the start time and cost.) In conversation with same, I found out that they had written their latest album, "Fire up the Blades", in a rented house in Tacoma, Washington, though they were actually from Vancouver, British Columbia. I got to the concert early and watched Ash set up his double drum kit, taking some mental notes on cymbal placement which I experimented with later. Hanging out with my friend for most of the opening acts was a good idea - I get claustrophobic in crowds, and he was doing the merchandising for the bands until he was up and I was the first to purchase their T-shirt, namely a Baphomet where the goat's face is a goaltender's mask and the pentagram composed of hockey sticks. To say they are electrifying in person is an understatement. They're a rare band - one that sounds great recorded and better live. Cam dominated the stage, screaming out "DESTROY THE ORCS" and their other hits in his inimitable style, while the two guitarists rocked vintage 80s looking guitars and the bass and drums were lock-tight and carried the whole affair forward with gusto. Hell's Kitchen is a small venue which limits stage antics, but they managed to make the sound and the stage seem three times their size. Unfortunately, one cannot convey the experience in any better way over text, but suffice it to say that it's the vocals of Judas Priest, the guitars of Iron Maiden, and the drums of a highly proficient later-technical metal band put into a blender of whirling Dungeons and Dragons blades and reforged into something tight, headbanging and well worth the time and energy. | 
