Newt's Vancouver rock forecast: 3 Inches of Blood, Iron Maiden, Graveyard—there will be riffs!

The last Vancouver rock forecast I did, back in August, focused on shows by AC/DC, Slash, and Judas Priest. Those gigs have come and gone, but fear not local loud-music fans: there's more volume where that came from.

Like this weekend's farewell shows at the Commodore by local earbusters 3 Inches of Blood. When it comes to Vancouver metal, it doesn't get much better than that. When I interviewed guitarist Shane Clark over a frosty Pil back in 2009, he confirmed that—like frontman Cam Pipes—he was heavily influenced by the galloping vibe of Iron Maiden.

“For me, it was specifically a song called 'The Trooper’,” said Clark. “When I was about 10 or 11 we had a family friend who made a mix tape for me that had stuff like Dio, Iron Maiden, AC/DC on there. This was stuff my parents never listened to—my dad listened to the Who or Led Zeppelin, maybe—but that mix tape really got me excited about life.”

If you'd like to wish 3 Inches of Blood a fond farewell, you can still get tickets for their Sunday show—with guests Hookers and Erosion—but the Saturday show has long since SOLD OUT.

And if you'd rather hold out to see 3 Inches of Blood's favourite band, then you'd better snap up tickets for Iron Maiden's April 10 show at Rogers Arena. Believe it or not, you can still get them for the low-low price of $29.50 (plus service charges and fees). With three guitar players going at it for two hours, that works out to about 300 notes per penny.

Helluva deal!

It's pretty hard to beat legendary acts like Maiden, but if you want to give a newer band a shot, might I recommend Graveyard, a Swedish hard-rock band that plays the Rickshaw on December 12, with guests Earthless. 

The Graveyard released its first album back in 2007, just one year before my favourite Swedish rock band, the Hellacopters, called it quits. 

Man, I used to love the Hellacopters. Why they never got Zeppelin-huge I'll never figure out:

And just in case you're a total geek who doesn't like any of the above recommendations, here's a few more. Tell 'em the Newt sent ya.

The Cult and Primal Scream November 15 at the Queen E.

Corrosion of Conformity November 20 at Venue.

King Crimson November 26 and 27 at the Vogue.

Headstones November 27 at the Commodore.

Zappa Plays Zappa November 29 at the Commodore.

Keithmas VI December 18 at the Rickshaw.

Black Sabbath February 3 at Rogers Arena.

Matt Anderson February 18 at the Vogue.