They write songs about killing and even their parents dislike their music but five Bay students are hoping to woo judges when they ramp up the amp for the Smokefreerockquest tomorrow.
The teenagers' band Cadaverous State is one of 42 Bay of Plenty student bands who will do battle in the
regional heats at Mount Sports Centre.
For 15-year-olds Mike Jones, Ryan McGowan, and Lee Penney of Tauranga Boys' College, and 14-year-old Chad Hays-Jones from Mount Maunganui College, this weekend's gig is going to be big. Their music genre is "death core", which, they say, is "heavier than heavy metal".
"There's chugging on the guitars and half-speed on the drums," Mike said.
But describing their music, is a little more difficult.
"Really, it's just sort of bad ass," Mike summed up.
Their band name doesn't hold significance but was instead a second choice, after it turned out their first pick Goregasm, was used "50 gazillion times" when they typed it into MySpace.
And their songs are not punctuated by sensitive or socially penetrating lyrics but instead are about "killing".
"Killing just in stupid ways," Mike stressed. "It's nothing serious. Don't believe in what we're saying."
The boys described their music as similar to that of bands Eight Foot Sativa and Suicide Silence.
Tomorrow they will perform their original song Enslaving the Wretched.
The boys, who have recorded a five-track demo and have pages sites on social networking websites MySpace and Bebo, said death core was different because it wasn't "boring or bland".
"It's fast and heavy, fun to play and pretty much anything goes."
However, they've had a harder time convincing their parents their music rocks.
"My mum thinks our music is **** but that we do it really well," Mike added.
Smokefreerockquest heats will be played off tomorrow, at Mount Sports Centre on Maunganui Rd. The show begins at 1pm and tickets are $10 at the door. Fourteen bands will be selected out of 42. They will play off in the regional final on July 25.
