I visited a nightclub in Birmingham where a round costs £12 and I’ve never felt more at home

“Are you okay?” asked the man serving at Devil’s Dog when we asked him for a pint of water, the bright eyes of an industrial, post-apocalyptic face looming over us from the wall behind the bar. Lately the heavy metal club and venue is hosting a night dedicated to my old favorite long lost nightclub Eddies and it turns out I can’t dance for three hours without stopping like I used to. I needed hydration and not in the form of another pint of cider.

“You know, if you’re not feeling well, just come see us?” the guy added, grabbing my hand to shake as he introduced himself as the owner, Asad. It was a small but important gesture, as if Asad wasn’t about to miss a trick if someone in his place was feeling a little worse for wear. Understated and relaxed, he handed me the pint and I headed back onto the dance floor.

The Digbeth place is a really well kept secret. The Devil’s Dog social media pages show posters for the countless concerts and special events they’ve attended, but few show just how cool it all looks there, with chains hanging from the ceiling and old pipes fashioned into wall art.

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The Adderley Street location is right across the street from Dead Wax and while it hasn’t gone all out in terms of its exterior design like that place, Devil’s Dog has a very good interior theme, a large open space with lots of seating and tables in the a half and the dance floor in front of the stage full of people banging their heads together.

We were with two friends and three pints of cider had set us back £12. For downtown drinks, I found it a pretty cheap round. A reader got in touch last week to say he was on Broad Street, where a pint cost him £9 and a glass of Prosecco £12.50; I should have invited him to Machine Head with us at Devil’s Dog.

I’ve been to a few gigs at the club since it opened. Sometimes on a school night you’ll get to see bands for free and as a heavy metal fan I appreciate the work they put into keeping the scene alive. This city is the internationally recognized home of metal, but concerts are not as common as they used to be.

Even giving Eddies club nights a place to reassert itself as a destination for heavy music fans of all ages to come together to connect and listen to their favorite bands up to 11 years old. Plus, it feels like a basic music venue while somehow feeling sophisticated and neat. That doesn’t matter to me, whose fondest memories are of sticky carpets in Dudley JB’s nightclub, but you have to appreciate the effort.

There the dance floor was full of people, some familiar faces I recognized from nights out years and years ago and others, total strangers. I felt so at home and the Devil Dog even had Eddies old artwork hand painted on the walls bearing the likeness of the rock n roll legends.

There’s a lot of great stuff coming to Devil Dog. Brummie punk legends GBH have a hometown gig on June 29, there’s a Disney club night with an emo twist on August 17 and tributes to Green Day, Rammstein and more are planned for the summer.

Digbeth isn’t short of cool places to go at night, but the Devil’s Dog is among its most underrated gems. If you like heavy music, you must visit.

Devil’s Dog is at 148 Adderley Street, Digbeth, B9 4ED.