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Ryan Green (from left), Corey Clark, Nate Bracey, Mike Grow and Mike Morgan constitute Summon the Destroyer, which is celebrating the release of its first CD, "In Reverence to Sin," after just over a year together. (Photo by Nicole Green)

Very few local bands take Indianapolis' music scene by surprise.

The tight-knit community of musicians and promoters is constantly clued into the status of each band and its side projects. People within the scene are incredibly supportive of each other and equally hostile to outsiders.

Summon the Destroyer once found itself outside that cozy embrace, but has quickly won support from the notoriously fickle local crowd with its rock-solid take on American death metal.

"Honestly, I don't know where we went right with that," guitarist Ryan Green said.

The band played its first show at May's Lounge on St. Patrick's Day 2007. "It was sort of a last-minute thing," said Green. "We didn't expect anyone to show up." But word traveled fast among friends and supporters of the members' previous bands, so "we ended up having a really decent turnout."

That makes sense, since friendships played a key role in the band's getting together in the first place. Green, formerly of Amongst the Swarm, has been friends with Ishia bassist Corey Clark, 23, and Into the Silence drummer Mike Grow, 26, since childhood.

When all three bands disintegrated, the trio pulled guitarist Mike Morgan, 23, and vocalist Nate Bracey, 26, into the fold, and began playing shows almost immediately. On May 15 and 16, little more than a year later, the band is celebrating its first album, "In Reverence to Sin."

The album is without a doubt a death-metal record. Green describes the subject matter as "anti-religious," with some songs veering off into gore- and horror-inspired death metal, like "Knife Fight in a Phone Booth."

Summon the Destroyer is celebrating the release of "In Reverence to Sin" with two shows, one all-ages (at the Emerson Theatre) and one for the 21-and-older crowd (at the Melody Inn). After that the plan is to book a weeklong tour around the Midwest "to get everybody broke in," Green said, and to shop the CD to record labels.

Summon the Destroyer, Black Arrows of Filth and Impurity

Where: Melody Inn, 3826 N. Illinois St.

When: 8 p.m. May 15.

Tickets: $5.

Summon the Destroyer, Anagnorisis, Burial Within, Rejicide, The Barfight

Where: Emerson Theater, 4634 E. 10th St.

When: 7 p.m. May 16.

Tickets: $7

Info: www.myspace.com/summonthedestroyer