The rock & roll dream is alive and well and living in Peoria. That’s Peoria, Arizona, a small town outside Phoenix, where the members of A Change of Pace, ages 16-18, come from. Unlike most teenagers who have just graduated high school, they are not busy getting ready for college, but about to release their slam-bang debut album, An Offer You Can’t Refuse, for Immortal Records.

“It’s kind of uncanny isn’t it'” says lead singer Torry Jasper about the band’s youth. Their age is belied by the sheer energy and roar behind such tracks as “Loose Lips Sink Ships,” “Till Death Do Us Part,” “Every Second” and “Asleep at the Wheel,” which combine the bludgeoning martial synchronization of hardcore metal with surging buzzsaw choruses that nod to both emo and punk.

The influences range from the Beatles, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin albums Torry’s parents played around the house, through his Metallica phase and up to his current fascination with Five for Fighting, Ben Folds and Third Eye Blind, reflected in the hard-edged acoustic lament, “A Farewell to Friendship.”

A Change of Pace’s roots go back to Torry and Jonathan Kelly’s freshman high school English class four years ago, where they first met and discovered their mutual love of music. Unfortunately, when they got together to jam, they discovered they couldn’t stand each other, though they hit it off musically.