(Singapore) Hidden in the basement of an old shopping center is the unique bar heavy metal of Singapore, where music lovers rub shoulders with international rockers who were the pioneers of the genre.
Singapore authorities are struggling to attract mainstream headliners like Taylor Swift recently, leaving few venues to host concerts for the city-state’s tiny but vibrant metal scene.
A stone’s throw from Parliament and the Supreme Court is the city’s only bar dedicated to metal and hard rock, the Flying V.
Sitting at the bar on a Tuesday evening in May, Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover enjoys a dark Welsh beer, the day before his band’s concert at the Singapore Rockfest.
“I’ve been to several places like this, and this is one of the best,” says Glover.
Two days later, the bar hosted a meet-and-greet session with American guitarist Marty Friedman, a former member of the famous trash metal band Megadeth.
For Friedman, this music creates a tight-knit community, because “fans of other musical genres find good things in metal.”
Metal “is no longer an underground community” and places like this are “very cool “, because they are home to “the real die-hard metal fans”, he declares, between photos and autographs with his audience.
Advertising inserts or posters of Iron Maiden are plastered on the walls of the Flying V, as well as posters advertising the group’s beer, Trooper. A sign at the entrance to the bar announces the color: “beer, metal, pizza”.
“We feel like we’re in Europe”
PHOTO ROSLAN RAHMAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A stone’s throw from the Singapore Parliament and the Supreme Court is the city’s only bar dedicated to metal and hard rock, the Flying V.
Beyond metalheads in black t-shirts, the pub also attracts tourists and office workers.
The latter “must always be in shirts and suits for work, but deep down, they have kept this heavy metal side of their adolescence,” George Kirton, the co-founder of the bar, told AFP.
Customers can choose their favorite songs themselves on an iPad provided, and the music plays, ranging from glam metal classic from the 1980s trash metal or even at grindcore.
“When you come here, you don’t feel like you’re in Singapore. We feel like we’re in Europe,” says Saifullah Sabri, 36, a barber in Singapore.
Daniel Hokke, a 48-year-old Dutch engineer, says he “immediately feels at home” upon entering Flying V, which reminds him of the metal bars of his home country.
The pub is located near several public administration buildings.
In the 1990s, with the punk revival, the neighborhood became popular with local counterculture movements, skinheads Or metalheadsand is home to many shops selling music and skateboards.
Ross Knudson, the other co-founder of Flying V, also owns the company LAMC Productions, which promotes concerts in Asia.
For him, rock and metal are “under-represented” in Singapore and fans of these musical genres needed a place to meet.
For this American, “Singapore has a very chic type of mentality.” With the other co-founder, George Kirton, “we just wanted to bring something different,” he says.