Helgi’s is a heavy metal bar and live music venue in Hackney, East London. Located on Mare Street, close to London Fields, it opened in 2018 and has become one of London’s clearest dedicated metal bars.
Behind the relatively innocent name is a much darker interior concept, mixing 1960s and 1970s occult imagery with heavy metal, doom metal and horror culture. The visual style feels like Hammer Horror meeting Black Sabbath and Venom, with devils, pentagrams, psychedelic neon art, Halloween-style cobwebs and dark rock artwork spread through the venue.
Helgi’s is larger than many metal bars and is spread across several rooms, but the music is loud throughout the venue, making conversation difficult when the bar is busy. The soundtrack is usually controlled by DJs and leans towards classic heavy metal, doom metal, hard rock and heavier old-school styles. A sign on the wall reading “NU-Metal Sucks!” gives a clear idea of the bar’s attitude towards more modern metal trends.
The decoration continues into the toilets, which are covered with images of musicians, old horror films and explicit 1970s-style adult material. Among the more recognisable pieces is the famous Playgirl photograph of Peter Steele from Type O Negative. Together with its occult décor, loud DJ sets, live events and old-school metal focus, Helgi’s has one of the most distinctive heavy metal interiors in London.
ADDRESS:
177 Mare St, London E8 3RH, Great Britain
Back to London.