One half of Canadian heavy metal warriors 3 Inches Of Blood have formed new band Ritual Dictates and released their first two demo tracks.
Made up of guitarist/vocalist Justin Hagberg and drummer Ash Pearson, they’re currently working on fresh material for later in the year. Anyone expecting them to sound like 3 Inches Of Blood will be surprised however, as it’s more of an extreme sound, melding grind, classic metal with a few splashes of black and death thrown in. Considering Ash used to be in death metal outfit Angel Grinder and Justin was in Allfather, it’s not unfamiliar territory for either of them.
Speaking to Zero Tolerance, Justin said: “It just sort of came together really. I had a few songs written and Ash expressed an interest in playing drums and after that Ritual Dictates was formed. Ash and I have both played in Death/Black metal type bands before 3IOB, so it came natural for us, and after nine years of solid writing and touring for 3IOB I felt it was about time to play some different music.”
For anyone worried about the future of 3IOB now that half the band has set up a separate music project, Justin is reassuring that, if anything, Ritual Dictates will benefit them.
“I don’t see 3IOB being affected at all by this. If anything I think it will work in the band’s favour. I think if any musician writes only one style of music, they may hit a brick wall faster than someone writing different styles of music. I think it helps me when I write tunes. I like to incorporate different styles into all my songs, and always writing means always practising, so it’s not like I’m out of touch with the guitar (or the drums, in Ash’s case).”
As to their next plans, it’s the same old thing they’ve been doing for years now. “Future plans? Oh, the usual. Write, record, tour AND repeat.”
Head over to Ritual Dictates Facebook page to listen to their first two demo tracks.
