Catholicism and Armageddon. Faith and Theory.

On paper, these words don’t mesh very well. 

But for one Rockhurst band, Armageddon Theory, these words worked in perfect harmony to provide it with the biggest opportunity of its short career.

Armageddon Theory played  at the National Catholic Youth Conference in the Sprint Center on Saturday, Nov. 21 in front of 21,000 people.

Before last weekend’s performance the metal band had never played in front of such a large crowd.

Armageddon Theory is composed of juniors Patrick Scahill, Grant Laterza, Kevin Oyler and Gabe Mateski and sophomore Jack McCabe.

They play metal songs, originally only covering old bands, but now they are playing their own music.

A common theme to their lyrics is the unnecessary pain in the world according to Oyler, song writer for the band.

They were selected after hearing about the National Catholic Youth Conference on the radio, and they sent in their demo tape to the archdiocese of Kansas City.

There, an administrator liked the tape so much that he recommended them to the organizers of NCYC.

The band started as a group of friends who just played cover songs; but now that they have their own music, they are looking forward to playing it.

“We are excited [to perform at NCYC] because we get to play some of our original music in front of the crowds,” Scahill, lead guitarist, said before the concert.

The band entered the venue with the mindset of not being nervous, despite never playing in front of such a large crowd.

“One of the benefits is that we are not the main attraction while we are performing. Other stuff is going on, so we get experience in front of massive crowds in major venues without all of the pressure being on us,” Scahill said.

The band’s previous shows were significantly smaller, in terms of both venue and attendance.

“The largest crowd that we have seen was probably 200 at Nativity [grade school], when we played for catholic youth groups. Otherwise, we have just played in auditoriums that are far from full,” Laterza, lead drummer, said.

The band plans on playing in the Carlitos’ Battle of the Bands next semester.

However, they know that if they want to improve they will have to make time sacrifices.

“We have guys taking hard classes, guys playing sports and guys doing other stuff, so it is hard to get a chance for everyone to get together and just practice for a few hours straight. But one of the good parts of being in a band with your friends is that you can call them on the weekend, and they can come over and practice,” Scahill said.