Metal and hardcore heads, start licking your chops. Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest returns this winter for its two-day festival in downtown Denver at the Summit. While Metal and Beer definitely leans on the first half of its namesake, it’s bringing these two once obscure subcultures (remember when craft beer was for dweebs?) together again in the name of all killer, no filler.
Just as the bands on stage will blow back your hair, so will the beer. TRVE Brewing, which bills itself as “Denver’s true heavy metal brewery,” returns as the fest’s presenting brewery. Other brewers includes 3 Floyds and KCBC, makers of intense hop-froward beers, and whose can art often draws from metal covers from the 70s and 80s. Visitors should know, however, that less than a dozen breweries attend and certain beers have limited tastings. There’s still individual beers to purchase a la carte for those with music only tickets.
The real meat and potatoes is this line-up. Metal and Beer Fest Denver 2023 will host 14 bands to the stage, ranging in style from the atmospheric metal of Agalloch, to the speed metal of Midnight, The Munsens’s punishing doom metal riffs and several options to satisfy death metal fans. International black metal band Morbikon will play one of their first ever shows, and The Red Chord will play Denver for the first time in a decade.
Of the Philly festival, we wrote “It’s loud, it’s wild, it’s in your face.” Read more here. So pick out your finest all-black fit, get ready to hail Satan and enjoy a head-buzzing selection of bands with increasingly impossible to decipher logos.
The Specs
- Summit Music Hall’s capacity is 1,100.
- “Metal only” tickets are $79 for two days. One day tickets are $39.50. “Beer and metal” tickets are $179 for two days. One day tickets are $89.50.
- Check out Fifty Grande’s guide to Denver here.
FAQs
What is the closest airport to the festival?
Colorado’s Denver International Airport is about 24 miles from the venue.
Is the festival ADA accessible?
Yes, the Summit has ramp access, set-aside bathrooms and special seating. ADA tickets are required, and they suggest you arrive early for the best view.
What is the bag policy?
Smaller bags are allowed inside the venue, but are subject to search. Bagless entry lanes are available and will allow you to gain access to the venue more quickly.
Is there parking nearby?
Yes, numerous parking lots are near to the Summit. There’s street parking, but only for two hours. Additionally, the Summit is reachable through public transit.
Wait, wasn’t there another Metal and Beer Fest this year?
Yes, Metal and Beer Fest 2023 in Philadelphia happened on April 14 and April 15. That fest featured Suicidal Tendencies, Eyehategod, The Black Dahlia Murder, Gorguts and others.
What bands will be performing at the Decibel Magazine Metal and Beer Fest Denver?
Agalloch, Astral Tomb, Cephalic Carnage, KEN mode, Khemmis, Krypts, Midnight, Morbikon, Mother of Graves, Phobocosm, Primitive Man, The Keening, The Munsens, The Red Chord.
Who are the sponsors of this year’s Denver festival?
Metal Blade Records, Nuclear Blast Records, Relapse Records, Nefarious Industries, Magnanimous Brewing, Adroit Theory Brewery are among the sponsors this year.
What breweries will be at Metal and Beer Fest Denver?
Besides TRVE Brewing, you can expect Black Sky Brewery, 3 Floyds Brewing (IN), Brimming Horn Meadery (DE), Bone Up Brewing (MA), Wake Brewing (IL), Kings County Brewers Collective (NY), WarPigs Brewing (IN), Soundgrowler Brewing Co. (IL), Adroit Theory (VA), Magnanimous Brewing (FL) and Little Cottage (GA).
2023 Poster
