Courtesy Structure has been playing together since 1998 and cites bands like Breaking Benjamin as its influence.

THE BAND: Structure

THE MEMBERS: Alan Lozano, vocals and bass; Gilbert Centeno, lead guitar; Dom Serna, rhythm guitar; Daniel Lozano, drums.

THE SOUND: Structure is one of those rare instances when a band’s sound can accurately be described by its name alone.

It’s the product of 10 years of friendship, glued together by music.

The members function as building blocks, interlocked like Tetris pieces to produce a hard and catchy rock sound — which has led to a string of songs played on 99.5 KISS.

Songs that have made it to a mass audience include “Down the Line,” the melodic first track off the band’s album, Lights, released last year; “Waiting,” with its harmonious guitar breakdown; and “The Lie,” with a crunchy distortion and heavy beat. Influenced by groups such as Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin and Killswitch Engage, Structure’s music can be soft and slow but always maintains a heaviness, thanks to distorted guitars and a pounding rhythm section.

“We also draw from some ’80s artists,” Alan Lozano said. “Scorpions, Whitesnake. Those are all bands that we really take a lot of influence from.”

THE BACKGROUND: Structure has had plenty of time to develop its sound and learn to perform together.

“We were all just friends growing up, and we started just playing music and looking up to the bands that we listened to,” Alan Lozano said.

He was 13 and his brother Daniel was 11 when the group began to play together in 1998.

The brothers went to Central Catholic High School. Centeno went to St. Anthony’s and Serna, Churchill.

“It’s 10 years later; we’re all in our early 20s, and we’re ready to push forward. We feel like we’re on the brink of something big.” And something big is what they’re preparing for. They’re working on building an extensive Texas fan base, focusing their tour regionally and selling their self-produced CD.

The album alone is a sign of how serious the four buddies are about their music. Lights was recorded in Houston and San Antonio, mixed in Denton, and mastered in Los Angeles by Tom Baker of Precision Mastering.

Baker is the engineer responsible for mastering a number of albums from bands including Disturbed, Drowning Pool, Sevendust, Tenacious D — even the latest Bad Religion, and going as far back as Judas Priest.

“We wanted to make sure we had a really strong team behind us,” Alan said. “We put a lot into the songwriting. ..... We just feel really strongly about the record.”

THE WEB SITE: structureband.com; myspace.com/structureband

CHECK THEM OUT: Friday, July 25, at The White Rabbit with Ember, from Austin, and local band Seven Perfect. It’s an all-ages show and costs $8 at the door.

Jonathan Munson | 210SA contributor