Saint Vitus Bar

FEARFUL naïfs may assume that heavy-metal bars are cradles of malevolence where depraved longhairs slake their thirst with bats’ blood. But Saint Vitus, a gothic-themed bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, named after a Black Sabbath song, is actually a welcoming spot for downing cheap beers and listening to Pantera.

Very late on a recent Saturday, metalheads from the neighborhood stuck around after a long and crowded night that included Paul Bostaph, a former drummer in Slayer. From a stool, a dark-haired woman wearing hoop earrings and a high-waisted skirt barked requests at a bartender clicking through iTunes. “Play Skinny Puppy!” she said. Nearby, Justin Scurti, one of Saint Vitus’s three music-minded owners, explained that the bar welcomed everybody, not just those who could pass for Sebastian Bach’s stunt double.

“It doesn’t have to be about metal,” he said. “It’s a fun vibe.”