Precious Metal : Heavy metal may not be all that it used to be, but the Brothel in Burbank still celebrates the sound.

For years, the musical seers of Hollywood have been predicting the return of heavy metal. The theory is, cyclically speaking, people can only take their music down and dreary for so long before getting the urge to kick up their heels and r-r-r-r-ock on, again (stick out tongue here and flash the pinky-index finger devil horns).

Despite all the theorizing, head-banging as we knew it is dead and buried. The last devotee of metal-dom, FM Station, became a salsa club. Motley Crue can’t get arrested. Axl and Co. can’t get it back together.

It’s hard to believe that this music of decadence didn’t spawn a more devoted following in the ‘90s, even if Metallica can still hit the top of the charts. Most of the fans were eager to trade their heroes in on newer models, hiding their Bullet Boys albums when Alice in Chains came to town.

So it stands to reason that no less than a drummer, whose claim to fame is playing with Alice Cooper and appearing in “Wayne’s World,” would take it upon himself to beat some life into this dead horse. Anthony Focx--no that’s not a typo, he started spelling his last name like that in the ‘80s--picked up where Riki Rachtman left off and began promoting the Brothel, a weekly heavy-metal club that takes place in Burbank at Now Voyager on Thursdays.

Although you’ll find a few heads of big hair and the occasional Spandex-clad throwback, the Brothel is a pretty low-key celebration of all that is metal.

“I went from being a rocker to a collector,” says Focx, who started the Brothel six months ago with partner Jack Dean, a promoter who was schooled in his youth at the seminal ‘80s club Scream and who also promotes Fang Club, a Gothic club at Primavera restaurant in Beverly Hills. Each week, Focx shows up with a laptop computer containing 6,000 titles in his collection. Focx owns a veritable catalogue du metal--spanning 17 years--think, AC/DC to Zodiac Mindwarp. “I started noticing a lot of stuff was going out of print,” says Focx, who began piecing his catalog together from his own collection of vinyl and tapes.

In addition, launching the Brothel in the good-sport city of Burbank wasn’t such a bad idea. The Now Voyager, a nondescript place with a built-in ‘80s feel (i.e., a billiard table, small dance floor, cheap alcohol and plenty of Bud memorabilia) came with a cast of locals who like things just the way they were. This mood is enhanced by the 900 or so “Headbanger’s Ball” videos the guys rotate on various video screens throughout the evening. While the sound system is blaring such seminal metal acts as Guns N’ Roses, Warrant and Poison, video footage of these glamour boys in their short-lived heyday add to the spirit.

OK, so there’s little argument that if metal ever did make its grand return to pop culture, it wouldn’t happen at the Brothel. It would be repackaged, restyled and renamed, and Hollywood would be crawling with “it,” while good ol’ metal-loving folks would still be tuning into Iron Maiden and friends.

Still, the Brothel does offer its guests a modest proposal.

“If you had a good time in the ‘80s, we just want to bring you back there,” says Focx.

Even if you didn’t, where else can you approach a willing deejay and demand to hear Faster Pussycat’s “Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way”?

For those about to rock, we salute you.

BE THERE

The Brothel at Now Voyager on Thursdays, 4017 Riverside Drive, Burbank, (213) 955-1888. 21 and over, $3 cover. Open Thanksgiving night, with free admission.