There is more than one artist with this name:
1) 3 is an American rock … Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) 3 is an American rock band formed in Woodstock, New York in 1994.

The band was founded as a three piece: Joey Eppard on Guitar and Lead Vocals, Josh Eppard on Drums and Chris Bittner on Bass. They came to the attention of Universal Records after well-received performances at the Woodstock festival in 1994, eventually getting signed in 1998, but following an unstable relationship with the label through its series of corporate mergers, the band was left with little prospect of releasing their album. Eventually, the band decided to release it on Planet Noise Records, a small indie label, and thenceforth managed themselves independently, until their 2005 signing with Metal Blade, on whose label they re-released Wake Pig in late 2005.

Their career has been marked by several line-up changes, most notably Josh Eppard's departure to join Coheed and Cambria, who are now regular touring partners. Chris Gartmann joined the band in 1999 to replace Josh on drums, along with Billy Riker on Guitars, who has remained with the band since. Chris Bittner left in 2001, and was temporarily replaced by Joe Cuchelo. In 2004, Daniel Grimsland took over bass duties.

The band have toured nationally several times, as well as appearing on radio stations throughout the United States. Joey Eppard also has an active solo career, and released a solo album, Been to the Future, in 2002.

When questioned about the band's name in an interview with Rock Something, Joey Eppard stated that they considered changing the name of the band several times, but always decided to keep the name 3. According to the same interview, the name of the band originally stems from Joey Eppard's own "fascination" with the number: "It is a reference to the construct of our reality as having predominantly 3 aspects. For example, we live in a 3 dimensional universe on the 3rd planet from the sun, experiencing time as past, present and future in a form that consists of mind, body and spirit."

The band themselves describe their music as "dark yet uplifting, spiritual without any connection to religion". Their music is punctuated by dark, sometimes incomprehensible lyrics, often rather detached from the accompanying music. Joey Eppard is considered a highly competent guitarist, with an unusual flamenco/slap hybrid guitar technique.

The band toured with the British progressive rock group Porcupine Tree on the "Fear of a Blank Planet" tour. Due to the influence of this tour, iTunes Music Store notes that people who buy the new Porcupine Tree album, Fear of a Blank Planet, have also bought Wake Pig. Since finishing the tour, the band have stated they are working on two new albums, one featuring all new material, and other consisting of older unreleased material.

2) THREE (or 3) was a Post-Hardcore band, that hailed from Washington, D.C.. The band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1988.

3) 3 is a one-piece Italian industrial black metal band from Agrigento, Sicily, formed in 1992 by Kaos (Rosario Badalamenti). Four demos were released:

- Antichristian Kaos (2001)
- 666 Knives to the Son's Heart (2003)
- Onnipotenza III (2005)
- Santu Rusariu (2008)

3 broke out of a 3-year hiatus in 2008 to release Santu Rosariu; after that the project's now listed on the metal archives as 'split-up'.

4) 3 is another incarnation of the Emerson, Lake & Palmer family tree, formed in 1988. Keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer recruited American guitarist Robert Berry to take Greg Lake's usual place, and they recorded one album of synthesizer-laden progressive rock - "...to the Power of Three" - which received little commercial or critical notice.
Unsurprisingly, their music has elements of the characteristic ELP sound, but was criticised as less inventive and having a bland AOR flavour. After one album, To the Power of Three, 3 split up. Emerson & Palmer reunited with Greg Lake for 1992's Black Moon and Robert Berry would form the supergroup Alliance.

They did perform live, as "Emerson and Palmer" (Berry was onstage but unnamed), at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988, broadcast on HBO, but only performed a long medley instrumental set based around Fanfare for the Common Man, Leonard Bernstein's America, and Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo, which later became an ELP encore in their 90s concerts. They did not perform any original ELP material without Lake, nor did they perform any 3 songs since the band's actual label was Geffen Records.

3 performed at live venues to support their album, sometime in 1988. The three studio musicians were sometimes augmented by Paul Keller on guitar and Jennifer Steele on backing vocals. Their setlist mainly consisted of material from their album, including "Runaway" and an extended jam version of the cover song "Eight Miles High". The group did a different arrangement of "Desde La Vida". The band did long instrumental jams based on music ELP covered including "Hoedown" & "Fanfare for the Common Man", but did not do any original ELP compositions. A long, elaborate cover of The Four Tops' "Standing in the Shadows of Love" was also included in the set.

Band members:

Keith Emerson - keyboards (1988–1989)
Robert Berry - lead vocals, guitars, bass (1988–1989)
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion (1988–1989)

Album page: To the Power of Three

2) a Dischord Records band featuring members of Egg Hunt and Gray Matter whose song Swann Street appears at the end of the DC punk documentary Salad Days

Battle Cry
3 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Into darkness our descending
Searching for a time never ending
Still I promise to continue
Trying to see the good left within you

There's a battle cry
On the battlefield
Now that you and I

Have our hearts revealed
How many times must the blood thieves drink us dry

Back and forth the titans turn their
World to ashes lightning crashes
Searches through a grand illusion
Numbers falling mass confusion
One by one by one

In a violence of pretending
Its hard to know which side you're defending
Still I know you must continue
Trying to win a war waged within you

There's a battle cry
On the battlefield
Now that you and I
Have our hearts revealed
How many times must the blood thieves drink us dry

Back and forth the titans turn their
World to ashes lightning crashes
Once upon a midnight's turning
Nightmares on dreams still burning
One by one by one

There's a battle cry
On the battlefield
Now that you and I

Have our hearts revealed
How many times must the blood thieves drink us dry

Overall Meaning

The song "Battle Cry" by 3 is a powerful anthem about perseverance in the midst of darkness and chaos. The opening lines "Into darkness our descending, searching for a time never ending" suggest that the singer is in a state of uncertainty and despair. However, despite this, they promise to continue on, hoping to find some good in those around them. This message of hope in the face of darkness is reinforced by the repeated refrain "there's a battle cry, on the battlefield, now that you and I have our hearts revealed." The idea of a "battle cry" implies that the singer is not alone in their struggle and that others are also fighting alongside them.

As the song continues, the lyrics shift to a more general focus, describing the titans of war and the chaos that ensues. The lines "back and forth the titans turn their, world to ashes lightning crashes" speak to the sense of destruction and violence that is all around the singer. Despite this, the repeated refrain reminds us that the singer is not alone in their struggle: "there's a battle cry, on the battlefield, now that you and I have our hearts revealed."

The final stanza of the song brings these themes together, emphasizing the internal struggle that the singer and others are facing. "In a violence of pretending, it's hard to know which side you're defending, still I know you must continue trying to win a war waged within you." This idea of an internal struggle is reinforced by the repeated phrase "one by one by one," which implies that each person is fighting their own battles, yet is ultimately united in the larger struggle against darkness and chaos.

Overall, "Battle Cry" is a powerful song about perseverance, hope, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Line by Line Meaning

Into darkness our descending
We are descending into a dark and uncertain time.

Searching for a time never ending
We are searching for a time that never ends, a time of peace and harmony.

Still I promise to continue
Despite the darkness, I promise to keep going.

Trying to see the good left within you
I am trying to see the good side of you, even though it is hard in this difficult time.

There's a battle cry
We are fighting a battle and expressing our determination to win.

On the battlefield
We are fighting a war.

Now that you and I
As two individuals, we are fighting together.

Have our hearts revealed
We have shown our true selves and are fighting for what we believe in.

How many times must the blood thieves drink us dry
How many times must we be mistreated and taken advantage of before we fight back and defend ourselves?

Back and forth the titans turn their
The two sides of the conflict are evenly matched, fighting fiercely back and forth.

World to ashes lightning crashes
The fighting is causing destruction and chaos, as if the world is being reduced to ashes.

Searches through a grand illusion
We are trying to find the truth amidst a complex web of lies and deceit.

Numbers falling mass confusion
People are falling in battle, leading to confusion and disarray.

One by one by one
Individuals are falling in battle, one by one.

In a violence of pretending
The violence is taking its toll on us, causing us to pretend and put on a facade of strength.

Its hard to know which side you're defending
In the midst of the conflict, it's difficult to know what is right and wrong.

Still I know you must continue
Despite the ambiguity, I know that we must keep on fighting for what we believe in.

Trying to win a war waged within you
We are fighting not only against our enemies, but also against our own inner demons and doubts.

Once upon a midnight's turning
In the midst of this dark conflict, it feels like we are trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

Nightmares on dreams still burning
In the midst of this chaos, our dreams and hopes are still alive and burning brightly.

Contributed by Jason T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.