Just three kids from Brooklyn who play heavy metal, just landed a major record deal after hitting it big at Coachella 2014.
The 8th grade metal band, Unlocking the Truth, scored a $1.7 million two-album contract with Sony. The trio; guitarist Malcolm Brickhouse, bassist Alec Atkins, and drummer Jarad Dawkins became the youngest group ever to perform on the main stage at Coachella back in April.
The band will get $60,000 upfront for the first album. Then $325,000 for the second, and possibly $400,000 for the third, $450K for the fourth, and $550K for the fifth.
The group was discovered performing in Washington Square Park back in 2012 by Steve Jordan, drummer for Eric Clapton, The Daily News reports.
Once discovered, the band landed gigs playing across the country, including opening for Guns ‘N’ Roses in Vegas, a current spot on the Vans Warped Tour, opening on Coachella’s main stage, and now a gig with Queens of the Stone Age next weekend.
“Alan Sacks, the band’s manager, told The NY Post that the deal gives a group of young, black musicians a chance to redefine the perception of metal music, a genre typically dominated by white artists.”
And their influences? Metallica, Slipknot and Disturbed.
Check out the video of their Coachella performance, and get to know the Brooklyn 8th graders below.
