The Dallas metal venues worth knowing in late 2026 are AM/FM, Echo Lounge, Trees, House of Blues, South Side Ballroom and the Bomb Factory in Dallas, the Haltom Theater and Tannahill’s on the Fort Worth side, and Growl in Arlington. As of October 2026 they have Forbidden, Havok, GWAR, D.R.I., Whitechapel, Nervosa, Nile and Coroner booked between now and March.
The Short Version
- Closest to the underground: the Haltom Theater, where Rotting Corpse plays November 14, and Growl in Arlington.
- Thrash show of the season: Forbidden and Heathen at Trees, November 18.
- Biggest room: the Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum, up to 4,300.
- Metal bar: Three Links on Elm Street, the Observer’s Best Metal Bar of 2021.
Fort Worth Metal Shows: The Haltom, Tannahill’s and The Rail
The Haltom Theater at 5601 E Belknap St in Haltom City, northeast of downtown Fort Worth, opened on December 27, 1941, as a 716-seat movie house, per Cinema Treasures. It reopened for live events in June 2019.
Arlington’s Gammacide made their comeback there on March 13, 2025, as our Gammacide history covers.
Rotting Corpse plays the Haltom on Saturday, November 14, 2026, with Iron Jaw, per the band’s shows page. The theater’s site has no calendar, so watch the bands’ own pages for its bills.
Tannahill’s: Touring Metal in the Stockyards
Tannahill’s Music Hall and Lounge at 122 E Exchange Ave is a 1,000-capacity room in a historic mule barn in the Stockyards, from chef Tim Love, per its site. Concerts happen in the Music Hall, separate from the lounge, and its doors usually open an hour before show time. Its calendar leans country, but it is Fort Worth’s stop for touring heavy bands: Cradle of Filth’s spring 2026 tour listed it for May 1, This Day in Metal reported.
Next up is The Amity Affliction on Sunday, November 15, with three openers, per Ticketmaster.
Tannahill’s Music Hall & Lounge Open
A 1,000-capacity hall in a Stockyards mule barn, and Fort Worth’s room for touring metal.
Photo: Tannahill’s Music Hall & Lounge via Google
The Rail: Fort Worth’s Old Metal Club, Now All-Genre
Buster O’Keefe opened The Rail at 3101 Joyce Dr in 2010 as Fort Worth’s premier metal club, the Dallas Observer reported. The Observer’s 2016 ten best metal venues list put it at No. 1 and noted its stage had moved into the old pool-table area, giving the pit more room. A plaque on the stage front honors Mike Scaccia of Rigor Mortis, who died there on December 22, 2012; our Rigor Mortis history has his story.
Kevin Dunlap’s group bought it from O’Keefe in 2015 and relaunched it on December 31, 2015, with the bar and stage swapped and Dunlap saying “we’re wanting a more genre-neutral venue.” It booked a genre-neutral calendar, closed in 2018 and is open again today. Rotting Corpse played a heavy bill there with Austin’s Watchtower on September 20, 2025, per the band’s timeline. As of October 2026 its calendar is mixed-genre.
The Rail Open
Fort Worth’s metal club from 2010; all-genre today.
Photo: M Austin via Google
AM/FM: Dallas Metal Shows Tagged on the Calendar
AM/FM at 1950 Market Center Blvd is a diner, lounge and “expansive backyard” stage. As of October 2026 its listings tag five shows as Metal between November and March; one is an Iron Maiden tribute, and the other four are below.
Denver thrash band Havok opens the run on Monday, November 2, with Scotland’s Hellripper. AM/FM’s listing has doors at 6 p.m. On Sunday, November 8, Mushroomhead and Fear Factory share an all-ages bill.
GWAR follows on Tuesday, November 10, with three openers. The listing marks it all ages, with doors at 5 p.m. and the show at 6.
Havok
Denver, formed 2004 by David Sanchez, one of the 2000s thrash revival bands. Start with Time Is Up (Candlelight, 2011).
AM/FM’s biggest thrash date is further out. Nile and Coroner co-headline on Friday, March 5, 2027. The tour follows Dissonance Theory (2025), Coroner’s first album in 32 years, which our Coroner history covers.
Nile
Greenville, South Carolina, formed 1993. Technical death metal on Egyptian themes. Start with Annihilation of the Wicked (2005).
Coroner
Zürich, Switzerland, formed 1983. Technical thrash. Start with No More Color (Noise, 1989).
AM/FM Open
Diner, lounge and a covered outdoor Backyard stage, where GWAR plays an all-ages show this fall.
Photo: Jordan via Google
Echo Lounge & Music Hall: The Design District’s 1,000-Capacity Room
Echo Lounge & Music Hall at 1323 N. Stemmons Fwy is AM/FM’s Design District neighbor. Mark Cuban and Live Nation announced it in October 2021 with capacity for about 1,000 and shows starting November 1, TicketNews reported.
Its calendar leans indie and pop, with the odd heavy tour. British progressive metal band TesseracT plays Tuesday, January 19, 2027, at 7 p.m., per the venue calendar.
Echo Lounge & Music Hall Open
A Live Nation club of about 1,000 in the Design District, open since late 2021. Age limits vary by show, so check the listing.
Photo: Darrell Rials via Google
Trees: Deep Ellum’s Club for Thrash and Crossover
Trees at 2709 Elm Street opened in May 1990, closed in 2005 and reopened in 2009; our Deep Ellum history has more. Its own site calls it a 700-capacity room. The Observer’s 2016 list described an upstairs VIP lounge and a downstairs bar facing the stage, for fans who’d rather watch the pit than join it.
Most Trees shows are all ages with adult supervision. Fans 17 and up can come on their own, anyone 16 or under needs an adult guardian, and some shows are 18+ or 21+, so check the show page first.
The biggest thrash show in DFW this season is at Trees. Bay Area veterans Forbidden play Wednesday, November 18, doors at 6 p.m., with fellow Bay Area band Heathen among the support, per the Trees show page.
Their self-titled album, the first since 2010, came out October 23 on BLKIIBLK, per Blabbermouth.
Forbidden
San Francisco Bay Area, formed 1985. Technical thrash. Start with Forbidden Evil (1988), then Twisted into Form (1990).
Houston crossover band D.R.I. plays Thursday, December 3; our D.R.I. feature has their story.
D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles)
Houston, formed 1982, later based in San Francisco. Start with Crossover (1987), then Dealing With It! (1985).
Brazilian thrash band Nervosa plays Friday, February 5, 2027; our Brazilian thrash piece has the background.
Nervosa
São Paulo, Brazil, formed 2010. Thrash on Napalm Records. Start with Downfall of Mankind (2018), then hear the newest, Slave Machine (2026).
The Granada Theater’s Last Season
The Granada at 3524 Greenville Ave opened on January 16, 1946, as a 950-seat cinema. In 1977 John Carruth made it a 600-seat music hall, per the theater’s own history. In January 2006 Rotting Corpse played a KNON benefit there, the band’s first show in Dallas proper since spring 1987, as the venues page tells.
On October 23, 2026, the owners announced its sale to New York wellness brand Bathhouse, NBC DFW reported, with shows through April 17, 2027.
Its next metal date is Wednesday, December 9: Finland’s Amorphis and Insomnium co-headline, per the Granada’s ticket page. On Sunday, March 21, 2027, Metal Church play there with Armored Saint, Prekindle lists.
Granada Theater Open until April 2027
A 1946 cinema, a music hall since 1977.
Photo: Phil Nichols via Google
The Big Rooms: South Side Ballroom and House of Blues
South Side Ballroom at 1135 Botham Jean Blvd (formerly S. Lamar St) is a Live Nation-booked room south of downtown that holds up to 4,000 standing, per The Vendry. The Observer’s 2016 list counted four long bars around the room and more than 23,000 square feet of open floor in front of the stage, room enough for the pits Slayer drew there. Swedish band Sabaton plays Friday, November 6, per Blabbermouth.
The heaviest bill is Sunday, November 29: Trivium, In Flames, Sweden’s Orbit Culture and Fort Worth’s own Frozen Soul, whose North Texas death metal roots we’ve covered.
Frozen Soul
Fort Worth, formed 2018. Death metal on Century Media. Start with Glacial Domination (2023), then the new No Place of Warmth (2026).
South Side Ballroom Open
A Live Nation-booked ballroom for 2,500 seated or 4,000 standing, with four long bars around a huge floor.
Photo: Jake Morgeson via Google
House of Blues at 2200 N Lamar St in the West End ranked No. 3 on the Observer’s 2014 list of Dallas metal venues, which recalled Dethklok, Behemoth and Goatwhore pits under its voodoo-eye artwork.
The building has two stages: the big Music Hall, with a balcony over the floor, and the smaller Cambridge Room. Both of this season’s metal dates are in the Music Hall. Its calendar has DragonForce in the Music Hall on Tuesday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m., for the 20th anniversary of Inhuman Rampage, with Ensiferum and Rhapsody of Fire, per Live Nation.
Whitechapel brings its 20th-anniversary tour to the Music Hall on Monday, December 14, at 6 p.m., with Chelsea Grin, The Acacia Strain and Netherwalker on the Live Nation listing.
House of Blues Dallas Open
A West End hall with a balcony over the floor. Its metal dates are in the Music Hall; the Cambridge Room is the smaller stage.
Photo: Scott Contino via Google
The arena and amphitheater tours land a tier up: Dos Equis Pavilion in Fair Park, which has Iron Maiden on Wednesday, April 28, 2027; the American Airlines Center downtown; and the Toyota Music Factory in Irving. Our Clash of the Titans piece covers the Fair Park amphitheater’s thrash past.
Deep Ellum Metal: The Bomb Factory and the Metal Bars
The Bomb Factory at 2713 Canton St was a concert hall from 1993 to 1997, when Megadeth, Slayer and Motörhead played it, per Wikipedia. Wikipedia also records that it reopened on March 26, 2015, holds 1,000 to 4,300, and was renamed The Factory in Deep Ellum in July 2021. In March 2025 it went back to The Bomb Factory, KRLD reported.
Plans for the rebuild, announced in 2013, called for a centered stage, mezzanine seating and eight VIP suites, per Wikipedia. The Observer’s 2016 list ranked it No. 3, citing room “to crash into each other in pit or get a break on the side” and “one of the best sound systems in the city.”
Mid-size tours use its smaller room, The Studio at the Bomb Factory. Periphery plays there on Saturday, November 14, at 6:30 p.m., per Ticketmaster.
The Bomb Factory Open
Deep Ellum’s biggest hall, with The Studio next door for smaller tours.
Photo: Arielle Verdeflor via Google
Three Links at 2704 Elm Street opened in 2013, a few doors from Trees. Its stage sits in the corner of the room, so a pit that gets too big pushes out the back doors into the smoking area, the Observer noted in 2016.
The paper named it the city’s Best Metal Bar in 2021, for local metal groups and national hardcore bands alike: “the heavier the music and the louder the show, the happier the customer.” It’s open every day until 2 a.m., per its site.
Reno’s Chop Shop at 210 N Crowdus St is the Observer’s Best Metal Bar of 2015. That write-up summed it up: “The drink? Beer. The attire? Black. The music? Heavy.” Its attached venue, the paper said, “hosts some of the wildest bands on earth.”
The paper’s venue guide calls it “a longtime favorite for bikers, skaters and metal heads” on Crowdus Street, and the 2016 list noted live music every weekend.
Arlington Metal Shows: Growl
Growl, a record store at 509 E Abram St in downtown Arlington, won the Observer’s Best Place to See Hardcore/Heavy Metal in Best of Dallas 2025. “The space is small, the sound is loud, and the fans show up ready,” the write-up said, and Growl also hosts a mini-festival called Sweat Fest TX.
For a sense of the door policy, an August 2026 bill there was all ages with a $10 cover and free parking, per Downtown Arlington.
Arlington is where Rotting Corpse started: the band played its first show at Rascals there on December 6, 1985, as its history tells.
Where to Hear It Live: DFW Metal Shows
Every date below was checked on a venue, band or ticket page as of October 2026.
- Monday, November 2, 2026: Havok with Hellripper, Xoth and one more opener, AM/FM, Dallas. AM/FM calendar.
- Friday, November 6, 2026: Sabaton with Pop Evil and one more opener, South Side Ballroom, Dallas. Tickets.
- Sunday, November 8, 2026: Mushroomhead and Fear Factory with Nine Treasures, AM/FM, Dallas. AM/FM calendar.
- Tuesday, November 10, 2026: GWAR with Cleveland’s Midnight and more, AM/FM, Dallas. AM/FM calendar.
- Saturday, November 14, 2026: Rotting Corpse with Iron Jaw, Haltom Theater, Haltom City. Shows page.
- Saturday, November 14, 2026: Periphery with Ne Obliviscaris and two more openers, The Studio at The Bomb Factory, Dallas. Tickets.
- Sunday, November 15, 2026: The Amity Affliction with blessthefall and two more openers, Tannahill’s, Fort Worth. Tickets.
- Tuesday, November 17, 2026: DragonForce with Ensiferum and Rhapsody of Fire, House of Blues, Dallas. House of Blues calendar.
- Wednesday, November 18, 2026: Forbidden with Heathen and one more opener, Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Saturday, November 28, 2026: As I Lay Dying with two openers, Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Sunday, November 29, 2026: Trivium, In Flames, Orbit Culture and Frozen Soul, South Side Ballroom, Dallas. Tickets.
- Wednesday, December 2, 2026: Darkest Hour, Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Thursday, December 3, 2026: D.R.I., Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Saturday, December 5, 2026: Upon a Burning Body, Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Wednesday, December 9, 2026: Amorphis and Insomnium with Austin’s Hinayana, Granada Theater, Dallas. Tickets.
- Monday, December 14, 2026: Whitechapel with Chelsea Grin, The Acacia Strain and Netherwalker, House of Blues, Dallas. House of Blues calendar.
- Tuesday, January 19, 2027: TesseracT, Echo Lounge & Music Hall, Dallas. Echo calendar.
- Tuesday, February 2, 2027: Wolves in the Throne Room, Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Friday, February 5, 2027: Nervosa, Trees, Dallas. Show page.
- Friday, March 5, 2027: Nile and Coroner with Los Angeles band Syn Absence, AM/FM, Dallas. AM/FM calendar.
- Sunday, March 21, 2027: Metal Church with Armored Saint and one more opener, Granada Theater, Dallas. Tickets.
- Wednesday, April 28, 2027: Iron Maiden, Dos Equis Pavilion, Dallas. Pavilion calendar.
For later dates, check the venue calendars above or Bandsintown. Rotting Corpse dates go up on the shows page first.
Start with “Payment in Blood” (1990)
Cut at Elephant Track Studios in San Antonio in January 1990 with Gammacide’s Scott Shelby on leads, it’s the song to know before the band’s November 14 set at the Haltom.
Sources
- Rotting Corpse: Shows
- Cinema Treasures: Haltom Theatre
- The Haltom: official site
- Dallas Observer: The Fall of The Rail Club (2018)
- Dallas Observer: 10 Best DFW Metal Venues (2016)
- Wikipedia: Mike Scaccia
- Dallas Observer: The Rail Club Reopens Hoping to Shake Off Its Tragic Past
- The Rail: shows
- Tannahill’s Music Hall & Lounge: official site
- This Day in Metal: Cradle of Filth announces spring 2026 U.S. tour
- Ticketmaster: Tannahill’s events
- AM/FM: concert calendar
- TicketNews: Mark Cuban, Live Nation announce Dallas Echo Lounge & Music Hall (2021)
- Echo Lounge & Music Hall: upcoming shows
- Trees: calendar and history
- Trees: About (capacity and age policy)
- Wikipedia: Trees Dallas
- Trees: Forbidden Tour
- Blabbermouth: Forbidden announces self-titled album
- Wikipedia: Forbidden
- Wikipedia: Heathen
- Trees: D.R.I.
- Granada Theater: About Us
- NBC DFW: Granada Theater sold (2026)
- Blabbermouth: Amorphis and Insomnium tour
- The Vendry: South Side Ballroom
- Live Nation: Trivium, Dallas
- Blabbermouth: Sabaton announces rescheduled 2026 dates
- Dallas Observer: The 10 Best Dallas Metal Venues (2014)
- House of Blues Dallas: shows
- Live Nation: DragonForce, Inhuman Rampage 20th Anniversary, Dallas
- Live Nation: Whitechapel 20th Anniversary Tour, Dallas
- Live Nation: TesseracT events
- Wikipedia: The Bomb Factory
- KRLD: Deep Ellum concert venue reclaims name The Bomb Factory (2025)
- Blabbermouth: Periphery announces fall 2026 U.S. tour
- Trees: As I Lay Dying
- Trees: Upon a Burning Body
- Dallas Observer: Best Metal Bar (2015)
- Dallas Observer: Best Metal Bar (2021)
- Dallas Observer: Best Place to See Hardcore/Heavy Metal (2025)
- Downtown Arlington: Live Music at Growl Records
- Dallas Observer: Reno’s Chop Shop venue guide
- Three Links Deep Ellum: official site
- Dos Equis Pavilion: shows
- Wikipedia: Havok
- Wikipedia: Nervosa
- Wikipedia: Nile
- Wikipedia: Frozen Soul
- Wikipedia: Metal Church
- Ticketmaster: South Side Ballroom events
- Ticketmaster: Periphery tour dates
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best metal venues in Dallas?
For touring metal, the rooms with the most heavy shows on their calendars as of October 2026 are AM/FM in the Design District, Trees in Deep Ellum, House of Blues in the West End and South Side Ballroom south of downtown. Echo Lounge & Music Hall, a 1,000-capacity Design District room, also books touring metal. The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum ranked No. 3 on the Dallas Observer’s 2016 list of metal venues. For small local bills, the Observer named Growl in Arlington its Best Place to See Hardcore/Heavy Metal in 2025, and the Haltom Theater in Haltom City books local and touring metal.
Where can I see metal shows in Fort Worth?
The Haltom Theater at 5601 E Belknap St in Haltom City, just northeast of Fort Worth, books local and touring metal. Rotting Corpse plays there on November 14, 2026, with Iron Jaw. In the Stockyards, Tannahill’s Music Hall at 122 E Exchange Ave books touring metal, including The Amity Affliction on November 15, 2026. The Rail at 3101 Joyce Dr opened in 2010 as Fort Worth’s premier metal club; today it books a mixed-genre calendar.
What metal shows are coming to Dallas?
Highlights as of October 2026: Forbidden with Heathen at Trees on November 18, Trivium and In Flames at South Side Ballroom on November 29, and Nile with Coroner at AM/FM on March 5, 2027. The full list is in the article.
Are there metal bars in Dallas?
Yes. Deep Ellum’s Three Links at 2704 Elm St and Reno’s Chop Shop at 210 N Crowdus St are bars with stages that book heavy local bills. The Dallas Observer named Three Links its Best Metal Bar in 2021 and Reno’s in 2015. In Arlington, the record store Growl won the Observer’s Best Place to See Hardcore/Heavy Metal in 2025.
Is Rotting Corpse playing in DFW?
Yes. Rotting Corpse plays the Haltom Theater in Haltom City on Saturday, November 14, 2026, with Iron Jaw. The band’s next date after that is December 5, 2026, at Spam’s Bar and Lounge in San Angelo.
