Where heavy metal is economic development.
The Rooms
The venues we actually anchor our coverage on. One per city. The next time a band you care about is in town, this is where they're playing.
Tampa, FL
1450 Bush Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612
Tampa's metal living room. Smash 'Em Up release party HQ; reliable bills, low cover, real crowd.
Orlando, FL
6700 Aloma Ave #200, Winter Park, FL 32792
Orlando's J-metal anchor. Where Nemophila and Lovebites land when they tour the southeast.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
3045 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306
South Florida's veteran metal room. Culture Room books hard across metal/hardcore/rock — where the touring bill lands when it hits Broward County.
Miami Beach, FL
222 Espanola Way, Miami Beach, FL 33139
South Beach's dive bar holdout. On Espanola Way since 2012, booking live local bands on the nights the tourist strip forgets it has a scene. The unpolished room where the Miami underground actually plays.
Miami, FL
4447 SW 75th Ave, Miami, FL 33155
Bird Road Art District's raw underground room — big sound system and a booking policy that makes space for metal alongside goth, post-punk, and warehouse nights. A newer spot worth watching for heavy shows.
No shows currently scheduled — check back.
Austin, TX
2015 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78741
The independent metal room in the Texas capital. Holds 1,000, books hard.
San Diego, CA
1130 Buenos Ave, San Diego, CA 92110
SoCal's underground metal stronghold. 350-cap, every tour worth catching cycles through. Reportedly closing at the Buenos Ave location — the announcement points to a new home to come, so we're watching for where it lands next.
No shows currently scheduled — check back.
West Hollywood, CA
8901 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
The Strip's birthplace of metal. Still books real bills six nights a week — history you can walk into.
London, UK
178 Junction Rd, London N19 5QQ, UK
London's Tufnell Park metal room. The basement stage where the J-metal touring bill lands when it hits London — Broken By The Scream played it, a few minutes on foot from the O2 Academy Islington.