YOU won't see local heavy metal band Bhelliom play at the BayBeats festival at the Esplanade this weekend.

'We're too noisy and angry. The kind of music we play is just not widely accepted,' says Bret Ong, 29, who manages the quartet.

Bhelliom was formed in 2000 when the band members were still serving national service.

Since then, they have released an album called Within Nowhere and played abroad, such as in a heavy metal festival last year in Taipei.

Consisting of bassist Johanis Johari, drummer Gene Yeo, guitarist Damien Ng - who are all 29 - and vocalist Vivek Govind, 26, Bhellium is managed by Mourning Sound, a one-man record label run by Ong.

Johanis is the only one married and all of them have day jobs.

Govind and Yeo freelance for companies that provide enrichment-learning courses, Ng is an audio engineer for inflight audio programming, while Johanis has been switching jobs to 'suit the band's playing schedule'.

Considering that the production cost of an album can run up to $3,000 or more, the price the band have to pay to be heard is one hefty sum.

'Everything comes out of our own pockets and it's really tough,' says Ng.

They spent $2,000 to $3,000 making their first album which has sold only 'a few hundred' copies so far. They sell it for $10 to $12 at gigs.

Their second album, Colossal Tragedy, is being mastered in the United States and that alone costs more than $1,000. The entire bill looks set to top $6,000.

When playing overseas, band members have to take no-pay leave and pay for their own air tickets.

'We just have to save harder the month when we have to travel. It's not a holiday. We arrive, we play and then we fly out - on a budget airline, no less,' says Ong.

No wonder Johanis says it has come to a point where it's no longer about the band seeking fame or fortune.

'It's about passion and doing what we like. Money is not the reason. We'll just keep going till we're sick of it or till we drop dead.'

Bhelliom will be performing at DXO club at the Esplanade on Aug 18.