THRASH metal band 5,000 BC began life with an inauspicious debut performance.

"We played at a wedding and it was absolutely dead.

Everyone was nice and clapped but it wasn't really their kind of thing," said drummer James Procter.

Since then the youthful Kendal band, all aged under 21, have been finding their feet, using their heads and steering clear of weddings in a bid to find their niche.

Following long nights holed up creating material and rehearsing in Kendal garages, the group began performing locally in pubs including Dickie Doodles and put on a few gigs at parties as favours for friends.

Next month Lancaster and Morecambe College student James is putting together a charity night of metal-inspired sounds from local bands.

On May 17, 5,000 BC will take a slot in a line-up that includes Lancaster bands Face of Change and Forensic as well as Kendal group Burning Church.

James said: "We just wanted a place to play because in Kendal and Lancaster it can be hard to find somewhere to perform, so we decided to organise our own event."

The strangely titled 5,000 BC won't tell me how they came to choose their name, or what it means, but they will tell me that Iggy, aka Daniel Edmundo Alfredo Thomas Higham, plays guitar and Niall Robertson provides vocals and bass.

The three Kendal lads knew each other from their days with Loki "a band which fell to bits" as James puts it, and have been playing together as 5,000 BC for the last year.

"We are into metal music but we do everything from grunge to proper death metal and thrash but we do have some mellower bits and we are quite different in that we have a good variety of guitar parts and effects."

They have begun making rough demo tapes in Lakeland barns with hired mics and now have plans to book some studio time.

The charity gig will take place at Lancaster and Morecambe College on May 17.

Tickets cost £2 from The Sound of Music, Kendal.

5,000 BC will also play at Dickie Doodles, Kendal, this coming Sunday, April 28.