Mono Goes Metal is a metal festival and development project organised by Musikforeningen Mono in Aarhus, Denmark. The project is connected to Monorama in Åbyhøj, the rehearsal house and music community run by Mono, and has become one of the organisation’s main projects for heavy music.

The public festival is usually a compact one-day event held in Monorama’s small concert room. The venue has a capacity of around 150 people, giving Mono Goes Metal the character of an intense indoor showcase rather than a large open-air festival. The line-up is built mainly around Danish metal and hard rock acts, with particular attention given to new, ambitious and developing bands.

Mono Goes Metal is closely connected to Aarhus’ musician community. Musikforeningen Mono has existed as a platform for rhythmic musicians in Aarhus and the surrounding area since 2001, offering rehearsal rooms, stage facilities, studio access, knowledge sharing and networking through Monorama. The metal project uses that infrastructure to support bands from the heavier end of the Danish scene.

The modern Mono Goes Metal concept combines three parts: the festival, the MGM Masterclass and the MGM Festival Meet Up. The masterclass was added in 2022 and gives selected upcoming metal and hard rock bands a structured development programme with workshops, coaching and industry input. The selected acts also perform at the festival.

The Festival Meet Up was introduced in 2024 as a networking event for musicians and people working with metal. It brings Danish bands and local scene people into direct contact with representatives from festivals, showcase events and industry organisations. Guests connected to the project have included representatives from Copenhell, Summer Breeze, Roadburn, By:larm Black, Midgardsblot, Mystic Festival and The Alternative Escape.

This gives Mono Goes Metal a role beyond ordinary concert booking. For the bands, the festival can function as a showcase in front of an audience, volunteers, crew and invited industry guests. For the audience, it remains a small and energetic metal gathering inside Mono’s own rehearsal-house environment.

The programme has included Danish metal, progressive metal, deathcore, metalcore, black metal, hardcore and other heavy styles. Recent editions and masterclass rounds have featured or worked with acts such as Feather Mountain, Unseen Faith, Wolfhead, Heksproces, Lightchapter, Blodmaane, Lysbærer, Permanoia, Terminalist, Swartzheim, Krøyer, Danefae, Köya, Terrorpy and Sunken.

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Tomsagervej 25, 8230 Aarhus, Denmark

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