Arden shakes his head.
ON STAGE
Demon Guitarist plays a few power chords. His guitar is at a moderate volume.
He looks over at the Sound Guy, points to his amp, then gives the 'thumbs up' signal to raise his level.
GUITAR DEMON
Mohar loud!
The Sound Guy shakes his head 'no'.
Demon Guitarist’s eyes shoot open in anger. He rolls his shoulders and growls.
The Sound Guy quickly pushes the fader up all the way.
Demon Guitarist strums. He’s much louder now. He grins, showing double rows of pointed teeth.
IN THE BACKSTAGE AREA
Arden looks around. Everything is in place. Ebaneen and her bandmates warm up nearby.
Arden takes one last look at Deen and gives the thumbs up. Richie walks over to him. He points to the Demons on stage.
RICHIE
They’re gonna suck, right?
ARDEN
Fuck yeah they are.
ON STAGE
Deen gives the devil horns.
DEEN
Ladies and gentlemen, clap your fuckin’ hands for... The Putrefication Principle!
The audience applauds. A massive drum riff and demonic growl from Ivor Demon washes over everything. It’s sublime.
The Putrefication Principle performs a guttural, discordant doom rock number. They writhe and lurch as they play, their demonic forms a perfect complement to their music.
Ivor Demon rushes to the mic. He opens his fanged mouth wide. Spit flies everywhere as he sings.
IVOR DEMON
(singing)
Casth owt from da world above
We forged ouwr own paradisthe!
Da filthy masses stand in line
To be ouwr living sacrificthe!
IN THE AUDIENCE
Arden walks through the crowd, eyeing everyone up.
A CHUBBY METAL FAN smiles at his MOHAWKED GIRLFRIEND.
CHUBBY METAL FAN
I really expected them to suck but I’m actually diggin’ this.
MOHAWKED GIRLFRIEND
I know! The demon thing really works for them.
Arden points right in their faces.
ARDEN
You two assholes are sellouts to your whole fuckin’ species!
The audience members shrug and continue rocking out.
Arden grits his teeth and trudges toward the backstage area, muttering to himself. Ulrich hangs with his bandmates.
ARDEN
What’s the consensus? You think they got a shot?
ULRICH
Their supernatural forms do lend themselves to their particular metal subgenre.
ON STAGE
The song ends with huge bombast. Ivor Demon pummels his bass for the final chorus.
IVOR DEMON
(singing)
Forever will our desthinies
Embracthe the blackened night
Embracthe the blackened night!
As the song ends, the Demons turn and show the audience their tails - the ends of which are making devil horns and bouncing in unison!
Deen walks out as the stage lights fade.
DEEN
Let’s hear it for The Putrefication Principle!
The audience roars with enthusiastic delight.
IN THE BACKSTAGE AREA
Arden and his bandmates look like they’re ready to throw up.
ARDEN
Fuckin’ hell! What are we gonna do?
F.F.
Look... the judges are ready.
AT THE JUDGES’ PLATFORM
Deen walks over to the bottom of the platform, mic in hand.
DEEN
Okay, let’s see what the judges have to say. Cliff?
CLIFF
Not fucking bad for a bunch of demons.
Cliff turns his card over - it’s a 7. Moderate applause.
DEEN
We have a seven. Lezlie?
LEZLIE
You rock like beasts... and that's something that I know about intimately.
Lezlie reveals her score - an 8. More applause.
DEEN
An eight from Lezlie. Tyrus?
TYRUS
Ya fuckers! Ya. You like the metal?!
The crowd gives an obligatory cheer.
TYRUS
This was good but, you know - not ten good.
Tyrus laughs strangely as he flips his card - it’s a 9. The crowd applauds!
DEEN
And a nine from Tyrus! Twenty-four total points out of thirty - that’s gonna be tough to fuckin’ beat!
Deen walks back to the stage.
DEEN
Next up is Dark Divinity!
Applause from the crowd - until they notice The Putrefication Principle isn’t moving off stage.
Deen, looking scared, edges closer to the Demonic band.
DEEN
So that means we’ll have to ask you and your band to step off the stage, Ivor! Heh heh...
Ivor and his bandmates glare at Deen. After a pause, they shuffle over to the side of the stage.
DEEN
Okay... I guess that’ll work.