Heavy metal music is family music just ask my son

I don't have a lot of friends who share my musical loves.

Maybe in the back of my mind I thought, "I'll make one!"

That was perhaps part of my reasoning that went into taking my just-13-year-old son Noah to his first big metal concert back in 2008: Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back in Time World Tour at the Pacific Coliseum.

It sure seemed like the right thing to do sharing passions and all that. Also, it was educational this was one of the bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

• Iron Maiden's Ed Force One lands at Vancouver International Aiport
• Heavy metal wedding on the high seas for Saint John couple
• Vancouver's Scrape Records still looking for new owner to continue metal legacy

Not your typical 'car' music growing up

Getting my kids to appreciate heavy metal wasn't necessarily something I set out to do, but maybe I had been doing it all along.

Only later did I wonder if Masters of Reality by Black Sabbath might not have been the greatest choice of car music for the kids when they were in elementary school.

But soon enough, there was Kill 'Em All By Metallica and The Number of the Beastby Iron Maiden.

So when Noah and I got to the Pacific Coliseum, I was awfully excited to show him the ropes.

Wear an old t-shirt. We'll get a new one.

What kid doesn't want an Iron Maiden tour t-shirt, with band mascot Eddie the Head's zombie face on it?

We popped our ear plugs in and sung our hearts out.

It was a great night.

A music fan, if not a metal fan

Noah didn't become a metal lover like his mom, but on April 10, we got a chance to re-create our Iron Maiden night from years ago. He had become their fan.

A different venue, some news songs but then again those classic songs we know so well.

We've seen a lot of shows since then, even Black Sabbath three years ago.

We argue a lot about songs and artists and play each other lots of music.

I'm proud and happy to say I raised a music fan, if not a metal fan.

And really, more importantly, I've got a son who still goes out with his mom.

So if anyone ever asks you what's the good in metal music, tell them it brings families together.

Ask my son. It's true.

With files from On The Coast

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled:Bonded metal: how big riffs made for big love in one music-loving family