Schoolyard Heroes

Yes, they write songs with titles like "Blood-Spattered Sundress," "The Girl Who Was Born Without a Face" and "All the Pretty Corpses." But don't call Seattle's Schoolyard Heroes a bunch of sci-fi geeks or a novelty act. After seven years and three albums full of wailing, virtuosic punk-metal goth-rock, these four freak shows have more than proved they are serious rock 'n' rollers. Guitarist Steve Bonnell, bassist Jonah Bergman and drummer Brian Turner were just three high school dudes who'd started a band in 2000 when Ryann Donnelly, their 14-year-old classmate at a private school in Tacoma, Washington -- a classically trained singer with a wicked set of pipes -- came on board. The underage band played Seattle's all-ages circuit and competed (rather successfully) in local talent contests until 2003, when the Control Group released their debut album, The Funeral Sciences. In 2005, they opened for Vendetta Red's tour and put out their second album, Fantastic Wounds. And in 2007, they moved to Stolen Transmission Records, which released album number three, Abominations.