OXFORD – It’s brutally heavy, has its share of profanity and can be very dark.

But there’s no death metal here.

There’s a decidedly positive theme that runs through Dead Season’s music, says vocalist and songwriter Ian Truman, a teacher at Poland Regional High School.

“Our music is all about having confidence in yourself, and taking control of your own life,” he said. “There’s an overcoming” that comes through in the screaming, angst and rage-filled release of the songs.

Take this passage, for example, from their song “American Something”:

“I don’t want to be the kid who hated life and what he did/I’ll cherish it right to the end and fight against the normalcy and/Boring s— depression ends when I stand up and bang my head/Unleash the beast that sad old friend and I can/Fly or go on with the lie, or will I break the trend?”

“It’s a transfer of energy. It makes you feel alive,” he said.

The band’s name, said Ian, refers to what happens to people when they don’t find a way to tap their inner resources and claim their own personal power.

“Until we see the sky, find our light, and forge strength in self, we are lost in a mental wasteland, a false hope, days blur to months, years … the dead season is life,” reads Ian’s quote on their new CD, “Down Again.”

Heavy metal music will never be socially acceptable, said his brother Matt, “and that’s great.” It gives the band freedom to create their own unique sound, which is less metal “and more just heavy,” he said.

“We’re writing the music that we always wanted to hear,” said Ian. There’s good clean riffs with a groove people can grab, instead of being so fast or loud it blows you away, like some bands.

“It’s smart energy,” said Matt. “We just love heavy music.”

Ian said he’s had students tell him his songs have helped them survive some tough issues.

“So many of these kids at this age, that’s the only thing they can connect to, is their music,” he said. “We’re acknowledging that everyone has their battles and their dark side, but sometimes, all you ever needed was a way to release the energy.”