Flammie’s metal travel guide

Metal travel guide used to be a website cataloguing all the worthwhile metal bars and music shops around the world. Then came social medias and Internet web sites weren’t used anymore. Here’s a list of metal bars I have visited and can recommend or warn about.

United Kingdom

London

Probably the metallest area is Camden, though very gentrified these days.

1. Black Heart
2. Dev (ex Hobgoblin, ex Devonshire Arms)

Glasgow

1. Rufus T Firefly, good bar, plays metal

Germany

Germany is quite metally country but finding a metal bar can be a bit of an effort these days. Most cities will have some but not necessarily central.

Berlin

The metallest area still is Friedrichshain.

1. Paule’s Metal Eck, good bar, plays metal, classic, avoid when football or sports
2. Halford

Hamburg

I lived in Hamburg 2014–2020, great metal scene, usually always concerts and bars. The centre of nightlife, including metal, is at Reeperbahn.

1. Night Light, great bar, plays metal, only opens on weekends but worth a visit
2. Lunacy, ok bar, usually metal
3. Bambi Galore, venue, usually metal
4. Hörnerfest, festival, local train trip away around Summer Solstice
5. Indra Club, venue, sometimes metal
6. Markthalle, venue, sometimes metal
7. Knust, venue, sometimes metal
8. Headcrash, venue, rarely metal, usually avoid
9. Grotte, great metal bar, unfortunately gone

München (Munich)

1. HopDog, great bar, good food, sometimes nmetal
2. Abseits, good bar, plays metal, no card payment!

Turkey

Istanbul

Both Taksim area in the European side and Kadiköy on the Asian side have some night life. My last visit, the Asian side was nicer.

1. Wizard, great bar, plays metal,
2. Dorock, good bar, concert venue, usually metal

Norway

You’d think Norway as a metal country but it really doesn’t have much metal bar culture going around. Biggest cities will usually have a metal bar.

Bergen

1. Kraken, good bar, plays metal

Tromsø

I live in Tromsø 2020–, not much of a metal scene, we take every concert we can and support the bars that play any metal.

1. Bastard, good bar, every now and then metal (but probably best in town anyways)
2. Blå Rock, good burgers, not really metal at all

Sweden

Most cities in Sweden will have some metal bars.

Stockholm

1. Anchor, usually metal, often crowded and often rude bouncers

Gothenburg

1. Rockbaren, decent bar, plays metal

Hungary

Budapest

1. Paranoir, ok bar, plays metal-ish, odd opening times,
2. Barba Negra (track, …), metal venue, seems to be in different place every time, check the booking site

Czechia

Praha

1. ERROR, great bar, plays metal, “speakeasy”
2. Hells Bells, good bar, plays metal, mostly tourists

Ireland

Dublin

1. Fibber Magees, good bar, usually metal,

Canada

Toronto

1. Coalition

Belgium

Brussels

Not much metal in Brussels.

1. La Porte Noire, good bar, sometimes metal

Finland

Finland is surprisingly metally so you wouldn’t be surprised to have metal playing in an average sports bar, main stream pub or so. Just the most obvious hits usually but good enough.

Helsinki

1. Base
2. Praha, good bar, plays metal

France

Paris

Paris is not particularly metal that I have found, but the neighbourhood with some metal and gay bars is FIXME.

1. Le Black Dog

Nepal

Kathmandu

1. Purple Haze good bar, plays metal

Spain

Madrid

1. Sinner, good bar, plays metal
2. Mission Metal, good bar, plays metal

Santander

1. La Buhardilla, good bar, plays metal and punk