upcoming gig

Bristol's Metal Scene

The wealth of metal events in Bristol is drawn from a rich metal heritage in the city, classic local bands include: Onslaught, Gonga, Jaguar and Evita. A lot of the best events are in underground pubs like the Gryphon and Mother's Ruin where you can hear big riffs and roared vocals most nights of the week - with strong support from the metal scene elsewhere in the West of England.

As well as older cover-style bands at German boozer Bierkeller, you can see larger international acts at Bristol's bigger venues like O2 Academy and Colston Hall. The city's Old Market area is full of old biker-gang hangouts like the Packhorse - with various shops selling metal memorabilia and records - perfect for the morning after a big gig.

Buy tickets for metal events in Bristol

Our recent metal recommendations

Sell out warning! Free entry / PWYC! Sampledelic, pedaltastic, and oh-so hard to pin down for us writers, HAAL have kicked through the fourth dimension of the post-rock universe with folk-horror aesthetics, Deftones gloom and grisly industrial crunch. Bound to be AD93's next Bristol signing we reckon... HAAL + STOOP at The Lanes.

Diverse, devious triple biller with superlative stoner psych doom from Finland's Orbiter, sparring with our fav local theatrical darkwavers Naut + Tommy Creep's eerie modular drone for starters. Delectable darkness FFO: Desert Sessions, Castle Rat, She Past Away, Sabbath, Sisters. Orbiter at The Croft.

Blackened-industro-skramz-trap unicorn Wounder beckons you to the end of the Noid, wherein you'll find lone-wulf DSBM ambiance from locals Tomb Filler (reborn as Undershadow), unsigned sludgy doomcore posterboys Scathing + overdriven Appalachian drone folk from Sade Arellano. Shit's fucked FFO: King Yosef, Lord Spikeheart, Black Funeral, Liturgy. Noid #17 with digi-black metal wonder-kid Wounder + support from 3 acts across blackened hardcore & dungeon synth

Free entry / PWYC! The shape of doomjazz to come! Taking Bohren & Der Club’s glacial jazz-noir and dialling the occult Sabbath fuzz paranoia up to 11, Free Nelson kick up a hell of squall at the Gryphon with Carnivorous Plants' carnival of found radio sound smudges and melodic dronegaze. Experimental doom jazz from elusive trio

What our editors say

“Subterranean Manifestation started in London back in 2019. After four successful editions with numerous exclusive performances the event now moves to Bristol. The performing artists are always carefully selected to perfectly fit the concept of the event and to provide a well curated underground black death metal line-up. ”
From: Subterranean Manifestation V

“Monochrome returns to once again celebrate ugliness and excess. Set in the heart of Bristol, you'll find a diverse lineup of weirdo metal, gnarled punk and ear splitting noise, in a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
From: Festival of Ugly Music

“Blurring the boundaries between hard rock and alternative metal, BLACK | LAKES have a reputation as a captivating live act, with dark imagery and high energy at the core of their live show. The Broken Idols tour sees BLACK | LAKES playing songs from their first two albums (‘For All We’ve Left Behind' 2022 & ‘DEAD GODS’ 2024) as well as showcasing new music from their imminent and greatly anticipated third album!”
From: BLACK | LAKES

“Steve ‘n’ Seagulls combine bluegrass, folk and rock / metal music, the kind of band you’ve never heard before and can’t wait to hear again. Hailing from Finland, this flock of musical energy keeps on going and flying faster than ever.”
From: Steve ‘n’ Seagulls

“Returning with their first new music in three years, ‘in a fever dream’ marks the next chapter for progressive, alternative metal band Haken. The new material sees the band exploring some of their most emotionally direct songwriting to date, continuing a trajectory that has seen the band evolve with each release.”
From: Haken