It’s the energy that explodes from the singer’s mouth as he roars into the microphone, as his eyes, consumed with chaotic passion, bulge out of his head. It’s the energy in the guitarist’s harmonious yet eerie guitar riffs, his fingers like spiders crawling across the fretboard. It’s the energy in the tumbling visual of bodies in the mosh pits, fans spinning and bouncing off each other as though pinballs, each person’s face drenched and red with exertion.

“I want people to realize that metal’s just like any other genre of music. There’s just a certain energy and feel to it, which is the reason why I enjoy it,” said junior Andrew Butzen.

“Another Day Away” is Cathedral’s own hardcore metal band, featuring CCHS juniors Gus Estrada (vocalist), Andrew Butzen (guitarist), Jake Doyle (drummer), and Poway High School junior Neil Kan (vocalist). Characterized by “inhale screaming” and darkly melodious guitar riffs, and influenced by bands like “The Devil Wears Prada”, and “August Burns Red,” “Another Day Away” is tightly sewn together with the common love of metal, but more specifically, the energy that the music electrifies its listeners with.

At the beginning of his freshman year, Andrew Butzen, ADA’s guitarist and songwriter, started learning guitar after listening to a San Diego metalcore band, “I got an ‘As I Lay Dying’ CD, and that was the music I really wanted to play, so I just got inspired and started playing everyday.”

Similar to Butzen, drummer Jake Doyle’s start in music career stemmed from an interest in hardcore metal. “Some kids progress into metal, and I kind of just jumped right in. My friend showed me a really awesome song with super fast drumming, and I was like, ‘I want to be able to play that.’ So I started playing drums.”

The band initially was formed two years ago when Butzen and Doyle decided to start covering post-hardcore songs from bands like “A Day to Remember.” However, “Another Day Away” wasn’t officially established until the middle of sophomore year when Gus Estrada joined the band as the singer and lyricist.

Estrada, who started singing in eighth grade, said, “ I got into metal around freshman year through friends telling me to check out these bands they had found. Since then, I’ve just developed a passion for it.”

While Butzen writes all the music for ADA’s songs, Estrada writes the lyrics. Coming up with songs like “Interstates Away,” and “She Said ‘Supernova,’ Didn’t She?”, Estrada bases his lyrics on experiences and emotions. Estrada is also the “clean“ singer of the group, which means he sings normally in contrast to the other vocalist, Neil, who screams.

Neil Kan, the newest member of ADA, joined early this year, bringing a lot to the table with his stage presence and “inhale scream.” Inhale screaming occurs when the vocalist screams while at the same time sucking in air. The effect is a low, croaking, almost demonic-sounding roar.

“Neil does a certain type of screaming that people can take for granted; like when they hear the screaming, they just think, ‘Oh, it’s annoying,’ but it’s just a different way of expressing yourself. It’s just a high energy way of getting your feelings out there,” said Butzen.

Though the metal genre often faces stereotypes and criticism in pop culture, ADA feels they can help diminish the negative image society has placed on hardcore metal fans. “When you go to a show, a lot of people see the hardcore, screamo and metal fans as low-lifes and underachievers, but we can be an example against that. We’re going to this school, we’re getting good grades, we’re straightedge, and we’re still in a hardcore band,” stated Butzen.

In fact, ADA believes that, in some ways, metal can provoke open-mindedness and brotherhood, “It’s easy to not judge people, because you’re around a lot of kids with physical appearances that aren’t really the norm in society that we see today. It’s really cool because some people get freaked out by it, but if you just go and talk to them they are actually really nice,” said Doyle.

In the future, ADA hopes to establish a fan base whose devotion is similar to that which the band members experience with their own favorite hardcore bands. “That’s what’s cool about metal, the followings of it. The people are a lot more loyal. You don’t just go on iTunes and buy one song; you buy a whole CD, and you go their concerts, and buy shirts and just support them.”

ADA’s first concert occurred at Mira Mesa’s Epicenter on November 21^st. Currently, the band is booked to play at the Epicenter again and is also looking into recording with Sushifish Records.