Unlocking The Truth to break Sony deal

Viral Brooklyn metal band Unlocking The Truth, whose US$1.8m label deal with Sony Music in 2014 needed court approval, are cutting ties with the major label.

The news was announced by the band’s 14-year-old guitarist, songwriter and singer Malcolm Brickhouse and confirmed by the band’s manager Alan Sacks. At the world premiere of their documentaryBreaking a Monster at SXSW on March 14, Brickhouse told Billboard: "Our attorneys are working on our exit from Sony now."

The release of the documentary, directed by Luke Meyer (King Kelly, New World Order, Darkon), precedes an official music release from the teen band, assumedly the EP Free As You Wanna Be,however the film does show the trio recording their widely performedtrackMonster.

Friends Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins (drums) and Alec Atkins (bass)first caught media attention when a clip of the trio performing in Times Square went viral. Sony Music then inked them to a multi-album deal, which was announced in July last year. According to reports, the trio were given a $60,000 advance and were promised further payments if their first record sold at least 250,000 copies, not an easy feat for any act, let alone a metal act.

Since then, the band opened for Guns 'N' Roses, performed Coachella, performed onThe Colbert Report under their belt, published a book through Penguin Young,performed The Beautiful People with Marilyn Manson in January and have been added to theBonnaroo 2015 lineup.

Unlocking the Truth will perform tomorrow at the McDonald's stage at SXSW followed by another showcase has on March 17 (PST) at the Dirty Dog.