Forget Taylor Swift, Singapore’s only heavy metal bar is for ‘hardcore real’ fans only

Around the corner from the looming parliament and Supreme Court buildings, The Flying V is a metal music oasis in the otherwise manicured environment.

Sitting at the bar on a Tuesday night, Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover enjoyed a dark Welsh beer ahead of his band’s concert the next day.

“I’ve gone to a few places like it, and this is one of the best,” said Glover, whose band is behind one of the most recognised bangers of all time, Smoke on the Water.

Two days later, a meet-and-greet session was held for fans of legendary metal muso Marty Friedman, ex-shredder for bands Megadeth and Cacophony.

Metal music forges a close community, Friedman said, while “fans of other genres have found good things about metal”.

“So, it’s not just an underground community any more,” he said, after posing for photos and signing autographs.

“But places like this are very cool because it’s the hardcore real metal fans.”

The bar’s walls are plastered with fliers, posters and heavy promotion of Iron Maiden’s “Trooper” beer.

A sign over the entrance bears the venue’s mantra: “Beer, Pizza, Metal”.

Besides metalheads in black band T-shirts, the pub also attracts customers in their office attire as well as tourists.

“What shocks me is you get all of these guys who kind of look like you, or they look like me, or they look like regular office guys, especially like Japanese guys and German guys,” said George Kirton, who co-founded the bar.

“They still have to wear their shirts and their suits for work. But deep down inside, they’ve still got that heavy metal streak from when they were teenagers,” said the Briton.

Customers take turns to cue up their favourite tracks via the pub’s communal iPad.

Songs blare out, ranging from classic 1980s glam metal to thrash,