North Bay fans of metal music will receive an early — and very heavy — Christmas gift next week, thanks to a partnership between Napa rocker Ryan Raes and the rock-climbing gymnasium Rockzilla.

On Dec. 10, from 6 to 10 p.m., the Jackson Street gym will host an all-ages performance that will bring together two North Bay bands, the emerging zombie-metalists Brazen Bull and metal-core veterans Vengince, and two high-profile metal groups, The Word Alive and Underneath the Gun.

The headliner, Underneath the Gun, is a Christian death-metal band from Corona and “huge right now,” Raes said. In southern California, the group often plays before audiences of 1,000.

“There’s a whole movement of underground, Christian, really heavy bands,” Raes continued. “They’re making some serious money.”

That’s why next Wednesday was the only day Raes’s Distilled Entertainment could book Underneath the Gun, whose agent contacted him after learning that the Rockzilla gym — which holds about 200 — was available for a performance.

“When serious bands are touring, you are playing every night,” said Raes, who speaks from experience: He is the lead singer in Vengince, which has toured Europe twice.

“I’ve been to 20 countries this year,” he said. “We also hung out with Metallica and played their CD release party this year on 9/11 in Copenhagen.”

Vengince may not be one of Napa’s best-known exports, but the metal-core group has steadily gained in stature since its start here more than a dozen years ago.

As part of the Rock Star Mayhem Tour with Slipknot and Disturbed, the band played to audiences of more than 5,000 people.

“We just broke 20,500-plus fans on MySpace,” said Raes, adding that the band’s latest CD, “As It All Sours,” has sold more than 3,000 copies this year, “mostly hand-to-hand, with some retail and some Internet sales.”

Locally, Vengince CDs are available at Boardgarden on Jefferson Street, Raes continued, while the Internet site cdbaby.com also carries the discs.

While the members of Vengince are seasoned veterans, with a Jagermeister sponsorship and professional endorsements, show opener Brazen Bull — named for a medieval torture device — represents the next wave of North Bay metal.

“We formed in the lake of Berryessa deep under water where only the darkest metal can be made!” the group proclaims on its MySpace page.

The rock will be hard, but the concert’s hours are intended to be easy on metal fans of all ages.

The doors will open at 6 p.m., and close shortly after 10 p.m.

“It’s kind of a curfew show,” Raes explained. “Kids are not going to come home at 2 in the morning.”

He added that the concert will be “a family show — nothing to be scared about.

“It’s a make-or-break opportunity for Napa kids to have a music scene,” Raes continued. “If we don’t do well, we probably won’t do it again.”

No alcohol is served at the gym, which sells sodas, water, energy drinks and assorted snacks; the closest thing to a cocktail at Rockzilla is a two-ounce shot of acai juice blend for $2.

The $10 ticket price includes admission to the gym to hear all four bands; climbing passes and gear rental are extra, although Raes hopes to offer a climbing discount for ticket-holders.

Metal Night

• Metal Night at Rockzilla: Brazen Bull, Vengince, The Word Alive, Underneath the Gun

• Dec. 10, 6-10 p.m.

• All ages, $10, rock climbing extra

• Rockzilla, 849 Jackson St.,  #5A, Napa

•Tickets:http://www. myspace.com/vengince