PAUL SCHRAG: BENEFIT FOR BRIAN REDMAN >>>

Metal has evolved. Apparently there are enough enraged teens to have catapulted a full on pop phenomenon, with new metal bands emerging daily.

And, forgive me, most of them suck. Instrumentation is sloppy, riffs are tired and repetitive, and grooves are barren. Even the rage, the heart of it all, seems staged.

But there is hope. And you can find it on a tour of new work by Vancouver, B.C.'s 3 Inches of Blood, a Tacoma staple and one of the best things to happen to metal in a long while.

With a show tonight at Hellâ's Kitchen, and the recent tragic loss of former 3 Inches bass player Brian Redman, the time to appreciate this band has never been better. 3 Inches of Blood are tight, brutal and as on-point as ever.

Redman, wherever he is, must be proud.

[Hell,s Kitchen, with The Jet City Fix, Glimpse, Monuments Collide, Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 p.m., $10 suggested donation goes to the family of Brian Redman, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]