Teen metal band planning book

The teen metal band Unlocking the Truth, which recently signed a multi-album deal with Sony, plans to release a book next year.

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, part of Penguin Group (USA), said Friday that it would publish a book written by the Brooklyn trio chronicling the group's "path to success." Unlocking the Truth is signed to the new label The Cherry Party, a division of Sony. The band played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year and has opened for Guns N' Roses.

Unlocking the Truth includes 13-year-olds Malcolm Brickhouse and Alec Atkins and 12-year-old Jarad Dawkins. The announcement of the band's deal with Sony made headlines this week.

The upcoming book will be written with Charisse Jones, who co-wrote the memoir from American Ballet Theatre soloist Misty Copeland called "Life in Motion."

Unlocking the Truth is the first act on The Cherry Party label, started by Jolene Cherry, a former executive at Universal Music Group. The trio is currently working on their debut album.

Guitarist Malcolm Brickhouse, 13, and drummer Jarad Dawkins, 12, would spend hours in the basement practicing the heavy metal sounds they heard on TV, all while dreaming about the stadiums they'd play when they would one day go on tour.

"We used to perform in our basement but act like we were performing at those places," Malcolm said, "because we had a wild imagination back then."

"They were dead serious," said Malcolm's mother, Annette. "I wouldn't even call it practice, that's what they did, they played band like girls play house."

The band is part of the lineup for the 2014 Warped Tour. The group also will perform at the Heavy Montreal Festival next month, where headliners include Metallica and Slayer.