I've been living in Chiang Mai for about 6 months now. I like it overall, but one thing I can't stand is Thai music. It's all whiney love songs with an emphasis on vocals, which I hate. Since there's such a large expat population in CM, and metal/hard rock is more popular in the west, is there anywhere in CM that plays this style of music? I've asked some Thai people and looked around, but no luck so far. Progressive/sludge/thrash metal would be my preference, but even some heavier hard rock would be an improvement. I'd appreciate any suggestions, thanks.

One of the few heavy rock places is Pentatonic Bar in the Zoe's in Yellow area. And by heavy I mean 70s-90s rock... You won't find heacy stuff here unless you find out when they are having a show for some of the local bands. There is a thriving underground scene, I know of it but I never bothered to get involved as I ended up liking the Thai rock bands (not pop) like Silly fools, Big ass, Body Slam, etc.

My suggestion is go to kad Rincom right next to Maya mall and look in the shops with all the heavy metal shirts etc and ask them, downside is you will probably need decent Thai.

There used to be some ok-ish hard rock places in the carpark behind the mac store (forget its name), but its recently been flattened.

Thanks for the replies guys.

One of the few heavy rock places is Pentatonic Bar in the Zoe's in Yellow area. And by heavy I mean 70s-90s rock... You won't find heacy stuff here unless you find out when they are having a show for some of the local bands. There is a thriving underground scene, I know of it but I never bothered to get involved as I ended up liking the Thai rock bands (not pop) like Silly fools, Big ass, Body Slam, etc.

My suggestion is go to kad Rincom right next to Maya mall and look in the shops with all the heavy metal shirts etc and ask them, downside is you will probably need decent Thai.

I wouldn't mind some 80s metal, but I'm guessing the 70s-90s stuff is softer stuff.

As far as local bands and the underground scene, I would really be interested in seeing what that's like here. My faith in Thailand would be restored if I found one Thai guy who didn't share essentially the same musical taste as teenage girls in the US. Are there actually legit Thai metal bands? I'd love to hear some.

I'll enlist my girlfriend's help for your suggestion, that sounds like it could get me headed in the right direction.

Thanks again, I appreciate the help.

Took at the New Braserie has been playing much more edgy stuff lately. Shredding and very heavy, and loud - full on.