Kill to Gain are on a roll as they prepare for a UK tour, Italian concerts and a US partnership.

But these are no pipe dreams for the hard-working Keighley heavy metal band. This plan to show they mean business with a new line-up and a new EP launching on January 19.

The band headline Keighley's Vizion Club supported by some of the best rock bands in Keighley. The line-up is Eyesore Angels, Honeytoad, Sounds of Swami and Living Daylights.

Kill to Gain members -- brothers Chris and Martin Hey, Ben Cook and new recruit Ben Snowden -- are raring to go. Chris said: "It's taken two years to find the right bunch of people with the right talents.

"Coming from different influences we constantly challenge each other to do better and write original songs. That's why our style varies so much, we can be slow and heavy, fast and energetic, or we can make you cry."

The band has grown more serious since playing the finals of last year's Battle of the Bands. They played more than 50 gigs around Yorkshire last year and ventured into the Bolton and Manchester areas.

Chris said Kill to Gain recently supported a signed Italian band called Arcadia and wowed their management.

He said: "They are now trying to ship us over to their side of the world later in the year. We are also supporting them on their next UK tour starting in June."

Chris said that in recent weeks Kill to Gain had been talking to a record label that worked in the UK and USA. "We're going slowly with it, and a lot of what they decide about us will form the new EP."

Chris said the disc, Fractured, represents how the band members feel about life at the moment. He added: "We've all had some hard times over the last year and the songs really reflect it. It's being in a band and having each other to fall back on that has made us so tight-knit."

Songs range from "heavy heavy metal" and in-your face punk to an acoustic track with orchestral backing. "It's been a year and a half in the making and we're really pleased with it," said Chris.

Chris hoped the EP would help the band make a strong impact on the local scene. "We really appreciate the music fans in Keighley. We get our best receptions when we're doing home gigs. The last few gigs have seen 200 kids turn up and go mental, and we love them for it."

The band hand-picked its support acts as a thank-you to Keighley's brightest and best. "In a world where a lot of bands are ego-mad idiots, they are made up of awesome guys with their feet firmly on the ground," said Chris.

The January 19 gig at Vizion, Worth Way, opens at 7pm. Admission £4, and £2 for the EP. Songs can also be heard on the band's website, www.myspace.com/killtogainuk.