Courtesy photo Darkwater takes pride in its coherent lyrics that you can still headbang to.

THE BAND: Darkwater

THE MEMBERS: Jay Wilson, lead vocals; Roger Flemming, bass; Adam Rangel, vocals and guitar; Izzy De La Cruz, drums.

THE SOUND: The pounding bass drum and aggressive, crunching distortion bring out the rough metal sound in Darkwater’s music, but deep, melodic vocals smooth it out.

“Everything onstage doesn’t have to be angst, anger and rage. We’re heavy enough for people that want to bang their head, and we can write a song that might touch somebody,” Wilson said.

Wilson looks to Bob Marley for inspiration. “His passion and his songwriting skills, and what he writes about,” he said. “His life, love and liberty for his country.”

But Darkwater is not reggae. They’re fans of bands like Sevendust, Disturbed and Shinedown. They take pride in the intensity of their music, as well as the clarity of their lyrics and catchiness.

Their sound was further developed while recording their upcoming album, From the Ground Up, with Spencer Rangel.

They’re currently working on a distribution deal for the album, but they expect to release it later this summer. As for now, it’s streaming for free on their Web site.

THE BACKGROUND: Wilson joined the band two years ago, and Flemming joined earlier this year; but Darkwater has been around much longer than that.

“Izzy and Adam both started the band when they were teenagers, and they’ve been playing since they were about 13 or 14,” Wilson said.

The difference in age between the founding members and their new additions make for a group that’s not so common.

Rangel and De La Cruz are 20, and Wilson and Flemming will both be 35 this year and have already served terms in the military.

“We’ve actually had a chance to play for the USO,” Wilson said. “We’re big on any kind of affiliation (with) the military that we can involve ourselves in.”

It’s not the only cause the band has taken up. They’ve put on a benefit show of their own for the San Antonio Children’s Shelter. “We’re trying to make it an annual event that we do personally,” Wilson said. “It’s fun to get involved in things.”

THE WEB SITE: darkwaternation.net

CHECK THEM OUT: Saturday, July 19, at Click’s Billiards on Loop 410 and Evers Road. Darkwater performs at 10 p.m., but other performing artists will begin as early as 3 p.m., as well as art exhibits and silent auctions. A $5 donation is suggested, which will go to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Jonathan Munson | 210SA contributor