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Alec Atkins, Jarad Dawkins and Malcolm Brickhouse of Unlocking the Truth perform onstage during day 2 of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 12, 2014 in Indio, California.
Unlocking The Truth is a metal trio: 12-year-old Jarad Dawkins plays drums, 13-year-old Malcolm Brickhouse is the band's guitarist, and 13-year-old Alec Atkins handles the bass. Last summer, the group performed around New York City, supervised by Brickhouse's mother Annette Jackson. They filmed and posted their songs to YouTube, reports the New York Post. A video of the boys' performance of their original song "Monster" got the attention of Sony, who called the group's manager, Alan Sacks.
On Tuesday, a Manhattan court approved the band's multi-year, $1.8 million recording contract with Sony. Unlocking The Truth needed a judge's permission since they're all minors.
The boys all plan to attend eighth grade in the fall, but they're also busy recording songs for an upcoming release, which will secure them a $60,000 advance, as long as they sell enough copies. The band is also working on a book and a documentary, reports the New York Daily News.
Check out Unlocking The Truth performing in Times Square last summer: