Within seconds there is a burst of energy as a guttural, primeval sound pours out from the PA system and the pit erupts into a sea of heads thrashing in rhythm to the music.

In the wings a 70-year-old, dressed all in black, watches and listens intently and with pride to the death-metal quintet.

The group is Nemesphyxia and the woman, Jan Berryman, is the softly-spoken grandmother of band member Tom Banks.

She’s also arguably the band’s No.1 fan.

“I cry sometimes while I am watching them, it’s just so magical,” the woman dubbed Metal Granny says.

“I sit in the lounge and listen to Tom play, hearing what he has just created is just wonderful.”

Tom moved in with his grandmother when he was 14 for personal reasons.

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Mrs Berryman says she hasn’t missed one of Nemesphyxia’s concerts, and loves to dress the part.

“Too right,” she says. “I dress up all in black, boots and all.

“The band members are wonderful, they are so respectful.

“I am 70-years-old, but they treat me like one of their mates and call me Jan like I’m just another teen — it’s very funny.

“What they do is extremely musical, and the people who play it are musicians.

“They are so dedicated and are very nerdy, really — it’s all about the music for them.”

Trained as a classical pianist, Mrs Berryman says she first discovered metal in the 1960s when Black Sabbath was forging a name for itself.

“They were the first to actively go metal as I can recall,” she says.

“And they were followed by bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica.

“I used to watch these bands at the old boxing ring in Sydney.”

Now it’s her grandson’s turn.

Long hair tied back, and thick arms that grasp at the guitar’s neck as he speaks, Tom has the same softness in his manner as his grandmother — but with the depth of a gravelly baritone.

“I think the reason she likes it is that she can see the musicianship,” Tom says.

“There’s a lot of technicality in it, everything has to be absolutely exact and precise.

“There are a lot of people who don’t understand it — they hear someone scream and that’s about it.

“But what we do is a mixture between aggressive and melodic.

“Half of it is just angry, 300-miles-a-minute death metal. Then it stops and it goes into clean music with clean singing.

“It’s kind of a progressive band, where we try to build a bridge so that it’s the best of both worlds.”

Drawing from bands like Dream Theatre and Opeth and solo guitarists like Joe Satriani, there is more than one level to the band’s music.

This has culminated in a six-song EP, The Calm Before The Carnage which will be released at Soden’s Hotel in Albury tonight.

The EP was produced in the home studio of a man who changed his name by deed poll to Rox Dar, middle name Ha.

“Yeah, he’s a bit of a nutter, but he was really good,” Tom says.

“We spent two weekends working from 8am to 3am, thrashing out the album.

“It’s good, I’m really happy with the result. I’ve heard a lot of demos, things done in bedrooms and things like that and you can’t work out what’s going on, it’s just noise.”

But to Tom and fans of Nemesphyxia, the music is anything but simply noise.

“Not too many people are into it, but I think people can respect it,” Tom says.

“I think when we get out clean, pretty bits that’s when I’m happy — I sit down and when I’m in a good mood I write something that probably shouldn’t fit, but it does.

“That’s what makes it so interesting because it changes everything that’s happened.

“One of our guitarists doesn’t even listen to metal. He’s into Queen and old rock, and we kinda bring a bit of that in as well.

“That’s what we are all about really, the performance.

“The business side comes into it a lot but I hate that — the selling and needing to manage money.

“Sometimes we have to turn gigs down because we’re not getting paid and we can’t afford the fuel — but I just love playing.”

But where did that metal come from?

The heavy crash of sound, the deep melodies and growling lyrics, the near primordial roar?

“I got into the heavier stuff through my Nan,” Tom says.

“She introduced me to Metallica when I was 13-years-old, and it kind of evolved from there.

“She took me to Iron Maiden last year and I remember when they came on she just cried.”

The relationship between the pair runs deep. There is a mutual respect and admiration.

Mrs Berryman is openly proud of her grandson’s achievements, but Tom knows just how much Nemesphyxia depends on the Metal Granny.

Tom says she would drive he and his bandmates to practice sessions when none of them had licences, the car stacked with gear and drums.

She also recently provided the band with $8000 to cut the CD and have promotional shirts and posters printed, which the band hopes to pay back.

“If it wasn’t for her we probably wouldn’t exist,” he says.

“And there’s now not a show without Metal Granny — she’s always at the front of the stage, head-banging her socks off.

“There’s even been one time she got up and kissed the singer from a Sydney band because she liked him — she’s awesome.”

The young band is made up of drummer Dave Bauer, bass Alex Ziebell, rhythm Ben Thompson and lead vocalist Scott Lister.

Tom, who plays lead guitar for the band, is studying music towards his HSC at St Paul’s College, Walla.

More than impressed with his achievements is music teacher Judy Corrigan who says the metal-prodigy has more than one string to his guitar.

“He’s got such a wide area of musicality,” she says.

“He plays what I call classical, very beautiful music, and makes the guitar sound like it’s a violin.

“He is passionate, absolutely passionate about his music.

“Because of his diversity I’m sure he will do some heavy metal for his HSC, but he also played a very complicated, very beautiful piece for the school.

“When he finished there was silence — no one knew how to react, they never really knew how good he was.”

The band will launch its first EP tonight at Soden’s Hotel at 8.30pm, playing alongside Reign and Demonic Tempest.

One thing is certain, Mrs Berryman will take her usual place at the front of the stage and watch Nemesphyxia take the next step.

“There’s no doubt, I will be there,” she says. “And I know it’s going to be awesome.”