METALHEADS the Dead Lay Waiting are very much alive and are out to prove that with their forthcoming record.

The Swindon five-piece have been making loud noises for several years in the metal scene, but since signing to Rising Records in 2008 things have taken off according to drummer Tom Shrimpton.

The band met through the Rock School programme, which set up bands based on musical interest and talent, and have already played Download – the UK’s biggest metal festival – and toured Europe.

And 20-year-old Tom said the group, which also includes Luke Sibthorpe, Alan Willoughby, Ben Connett and Sam Sara, were starting to pick up a foreign following.

“We did a month in Europe which was pretty cool,” he said.

“It was really full-on on the tour and in the last few weeks we were driving from country to country.

“I’m scared of flying so we had to drive. It was the first time we played Europe and we went to Barcelona, Milan and Prague.

It was good to see those places because I wouldn’t normally get a chance.

“It was an amazing response – we played Slovakia and people were singing along to our songs. It was a bit strange that people thousands of miles away are singing along.”

Tom, of Lawn, said the bands first effort, called ‘We Rise’, had been well-received both critically and by fans but the forthcoming second album, under the working title ‘Almost Heaven’, would be a more mature record.

“The first one was better than we thought,” he said.

“We wrote most of the stuff when we were between 15 and 18. We lost our guitarist after the first album but then Ben came in and changed the whole writing aspect.

“It’s a lot more grown-up.”

Tom, who has been drumming since his dad Barry bought him a drum kit for Christmas when he was 15, has his services called upon to support other artists.

He has recorded with former Cradle of Filth backing vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva and also Confined Within.

The band are planning to release their second album in mid-March, followed by a month-long UK tour and a month-long European tour.

They also hope to return to the Download festival this year.

For more information, or to check out the band’s music, log on to www.myspace.com/thedeadlaywaiting or www.facebook.com/pages/the-dead-lay-waiting