There’s been a lot of turbulence over the past six months surrounding Oslo’s longest-running and most visited metal pub, Rock In. It all began on 28 February when former owner Erman Atabay was pushed out by individuals looking to take over the venue. Much has happened since, and many have described the saga as an outright circus. You can read more about the full story on this page.
Since Norway typically has a three-month notice period, many of the original employees had to work out their contracts. At the same time, the new owners brought in new staff. According to several people we’ve spoken to, these new hires were treated, to put it mildly, poorly.
Now, several current and former employees have had enough — they haven’t received the payments they’re owed. Patience has run out. Rock In has now been officially filed for bankruptcy, and a court hearing is scheduled for this coming Thursday, 10 July.
Back on 19 June, a photo of a letter from the Enforcement Officer (Namsfogden) was posted on Facebook — the letter had been taped to Rock In’s door. In Norway, the Namsfogden handles compulsory enforcement actions like debt collection and evictions. They also work with debt settlement arrangements. Reportedly, this was the second such notice sent to Rock In.
The absurd part? The new owners of Rock In claimed the letter had to do with noise complaints. Of course, anyone familiar with Norwegian public offices knows that the Namsfogden has absolutely nothing to do with that. They don’t deal with noise complaints. It may have been an attempt to mislead non-Norwegian staff, but even that is easily verifiable.
Former employees report having worked without contracts. Payday has been repeatedly postponed, and both holiday pay and overtime have been withheld. Bands that have played at Rock In speak of poor communication, last-minute cancellations, and being paid in cash — which is highly unusual in Norway and usually signals just one thing. For international readers, it’s worth noting that Norwegian labour laws are very strict and designed to protect employee rights. Rock In has clearly breached those on multiple fronts.
When employees confronted the new owners about missing contracts and unpaid wages, the response was something along the lines of: “Sometimes you hire a painter, and you pay them after the job is done.”
And then there’s the state of the venue itself. Rock In is visibly deteriorating. The kitchen has been completely torn out. Cockroaches have been spotted, with the owners refusing to deal with the infestation. We’ve also received a video showing a broken urinal leaking directly onto the floor, flooding the entire restroom — again, with no action from the owners.
Lately, Rock In has gone mostly silent — after a few feeble attempts at hosting concerts, pop quizzes, and even changing the name. The name change has since been denied, despite clear documentation proving they attempted it. These days, the only activity on their social media is a few Instagram and Facebook stories when people show up, usually with captions like “Tuesday is the new Friday.”
Mohsen K. Gargari, who has acted as spokesperson during staff meetings and spoken to the newspaper Vårt Oslo, owns the company “Oslo og Akershus Barkonsum AS.” According to the Brønnøysund Register Centre, that business was declared bankrupt on 4 July 2025. The company is linked to Noor Invest, listed as the current owner of Rock In.
The lawyer representing Rock In in Oslo District Court is Bjørn Berge from the law firm Advokatene Berge & Haug, based in Holmestrand.
Whatever the outcome of Thursday’s court hearing, it’s clear we’re now witnessing the beginning of the end for Rock In. The new owners have run a 25-year-old metal institution straight into the ground, and it’s hard to imagine they’ll be able to regain the trust needed to keep it going.
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