Camden has long been known for its music pubs.
This is the part of London where musicians of all creed congregate: it saw Madness become stars, gave the backdrop to the Libertines (and all the indie that followed) and there’s even a little blues there, too.
Today, though, it’s most known for its metal scene. This is metal as a very broad church, incorporating everything from punk to thrash to speed, gothic and even, here and there, a little glam. Below are two “proper” metal pubs, alongside a punk originator that’s a pioneer of the area.
The Dublin Castle
94 Parkway, NW1, thedublincastle.com
Punk in spirit rather than strictly on musical grounds, this is the pub that made Camden the centre of London’s musical universe for a time. Plastered in posters, the walls reek of history: of Madness getting their start here, of Amy Winehouse behind the bar. Today, there’s still music four nights a week.
The Devonshire Arms
33 Kentish Town Road, NW1, @thedevcamden
No, not that one, not the one with all the Guinness. This Dev — that’s its nickname, too — has been going far longer and, as its regulars will attest, at a far harder pace. It is dark and black and full of posters. Red neon buzzes. There are antlers. And then there is a corner that roars with flying V guitars and Marshall stacks: if you want it loud, you want it fast, and you like bands obsessed with skulls, there are few finer places. Oh, and the karaoke is pretty good too.
Black Heart
3 Greenland Place, NW1, ourblackheart.com
A metalheads’ den, but one with a surprising sense of order — many of the band posters sit neatly in frames. Downstairs is spartan: dark paint, dark floor and a bright glowing cross — iconography in the Black Sabbath vein. There’s a great stage set-up, though a low ceiling means everything seems even louder than it might. Good choice of beers and all the pentagrams and bleeding eyes are offset by the vegan bites on offer. Gigs almost every night.
