Now that their voices have dropped, the precocious young people of Unlocking the Truth — 13-year-old guitarist Malcolm Brickhouse, 13-year-old bassist Alec Atkins, and 12-year-old drummer Jarad Dawkins — are ready for the really big time. According to a couple of reports, the Brooklyn-grown tween metal band (a reason to love New York if there ever was one) has scored a $1.8 million deal with Sony.
For those who haven’t been tracking Unlocking the Truth’s ascendance: The group got its first break when a 2013 video of them rocking out in Times Square went viral. Since then, they’ve opened for Guns N’ Roses, played Webster Hall and Coachchella, and are currently on the Vans Warped Tour.
“I’m so excited! We’ve made it!” Dawkins told the New York Post. His mom, Tabatha, seemed equally pleased, telling the New York Daily News, “It’s so exciting. We’re jumping over the moon,” though she also insisted, “School work comes first. If their school work is not done, they don’t play.” And it’s probably a good idea for them to maintain a backup plan. Though their five-record agreement with Sony impressive, it of course comes with a catch: The Post reports that while the boys will receive a $60,000 advance and 16 to 17 percent in royalties no matter what, they’ll only get to tap into the rest of the $1.8 million if and when their first album sells 250,000 copies, which is a lot these days. For the sake of metal and middle-schoolers with big dreams everywhere, let’s hope it happens.
