DREAMS have come true for Darwen band Nightmare Visions - and they don't want to wake up.

The heavy metal group have clinched a deal with German company Rowk, a subsidiary of the well-known record label Milestone Music.

The five-year contract, which will commit the band to three albums, comes more than a decade after Nightmare Visions was born.

They have already sold more than 2,000 copies of a self-financed album, recorded on a Norwegian record label.

Their latest album, called Bequest of Sorrow, will be released in May and will spark a hectic summer schedule in Europe, including television, stage and radio appearances.

Drummer Steve Grant, the eldest at 39, says the secret to Nightmare Visions recent success is a determination to play what they like and stick to their own style.

He said: "We rarely play at local pubs because our powerful heavy metal music is not the type to compliment a quiet drink.

"We have played gigs at bigger venues in Manchester, Wigan and Liverpool. But this record deal is our first proper chance to make it big."

Part-time bricklayer Steve also believes that difference in ages and backgrounds among the five group members has boosted their success. At 19, Greek George Kosses is the youngest. The keyboard player joined the band 18 months ago after moving to Darwen to marry a girl he met while she holidayed in his homeland Greece.

Guitar-playing brothers Gary and Reece Bevan are older, at 23 and 25 respectively, while singer Andy Barnard has notched up 31 years.

"We're not a conventional, made-to-measure band," said Steve, "and I think that has worked in our favour.

"And I reckon our success in Europe is down to them being a more accepting audience.

"In Britain, if you're not pretty, aged between 18 and 25 and speak with a Mancunian accent, you're nobody. We're out to break the mould."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.