With the closing down of the iconic Coconut Grove bar in Paceville some eight months ago, many rock and metal music lovers found themselves at a loose end. And, although there are already hangouts that focus on this genre of music – such as Kickstart and, to a certain extent, The Drayton and The Mad Hatter – none quite reached the fully-fledged status of both hangout and performance venue that Coconut Grove, and its accompanying upstairs club dubbed Remedy, had achieved.

Now, things seem to be looking up again as The Garage, a new rock club that goes by the tagline “from rockers to rockers”, is set to open its doors in Żebbuġ this month. I caught up with Renee ‘Hades’ Farrugia – a familiar name on the scene and pretty much the only one locally focusing not only on rock and metal, but also on the more hardcore industrial, EBM and goth genres.

Known in particular for founding Hades Events, the organisation behind the iconic Halloween Massacre parties, Farrugia has now teamed up with Darren Borg in an attempt to give punters what they have been missing.

“The idea was born at Kickstart, the rock bar in St Venera. We were talking about how much Malta needed a proper alternative venue, away from Paceville, where both bands and customers can feel at home. While there are some rock bars running, live performance venues dedicated to rock and metal are a problem,” Farrugia says.

Borg, of course, is just as much of a veteran on the scene as Farrugia, with his Kickstart Bar going some way towards addressing the lack on the scene for these past seven years.

The idea behind The Garage, Farrugia says, is simple; a venue where people, bands, DJs and promoters playing any kind of alternative music or rock can feel at home.

“Indie, goth, metal... all alternative genres are welcome to perform, and to socialise. We opted for the name ‘The Garage’ with this in mind, because we want all bands to feel at home, and hey, most bands start out jamming in some garage or other,” Farrugia says.

The choice of Żebbug as location may appear an odd one, at first glance.

“We were looking somewhere that is central and away from Paceville. When we started asking people about their preferences, the ‘not Paceville’ was one of the strongest and most consistent reactions.”

The bar will not be limited to a hangout, although it is that, too, of course. Farrugia explains that the element of live gigs is the most important both for him and for Borg.

“We built a new stage from scratch and, together with soundman Steve Lombardo – another veteran on the scene – we made sure to have a good PA system to make it easier for bands to perform. Besides live performances we are also planning on hosting DJ nights and other events,” he says.

The biggest challenge anticipated, Farrugia says, is spreading the word.

“Having said that, we are very pleasantly surprised with the posi­tive reaction. We have received band bookings even before we opened. I know that there is a market for the genre; so far, we have a band performing every week and live gigs are gaining in popularity, as are rock nights. It’s good to know that the love for live music is as strong as ever,” Farrugia concluded.

The Garage opens its doors on Sunday with a Rock Metal Chaos night featuring live performances by Decline The Fall and Fallen Icon and DJ sets by Joseph Magro, Rene Hades Farrugia and Lyon Xuereb. The official opening takes place on May 12, featuring Forsaken Live and DJ Hades. Hell Siren, featuring DJ Nightmare, takes place on May 27.

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