Florence isn't the first city that comes to mind for heavy metal, but Overkill Birreria — seven years running, madonnara murals on the walls, German lager on tap — is making a genuine case.

Eighteen months in, Doom — the black-brick metal bar on the same Callowhill block as Franklin Music Hall — has become the closest thing Philadelphia has to a permanent address for its metal community. Inside the cathedral on 7th Street: founders Justin Holden and Will Yip, Chef Ian Hunter's mapo chili dog, the Doom Me cocktail, the revived Split Thy Skull barleywine fest, the Miss American Vampire pageant, and the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest 2026 home-base partnership.

Heavy Metal, Argentinian steaks, and beer...