DES MOINES — Dope may not have the support of a record label anymore, but judging by Sunday’s all-ages show at the House of Bricks, the band doesn’t plan on letting that bring it down.

About 160 people showed up and saw Dope rip through a 50-minute set in which the band was surrounded by police tape, flashing police lights, barbed wire barriers and skulls of Uncle Sam.

Frontman Edsel Dope’s dreadlocks snapped through the air like miniature bullwhips as the band tore off ferocious versions of some of its most aggressive material, including “Die MF Die” and “Take Your Best Shot.” Surprisingly enough however, it was “Now or Never,” a more pop-oriented track the band usually doesn’t play live that got the best reaction from the audience.

Dustyn Goos, junior in sociology, was attending his second Dope concert, and said he enjoyed Sunday’s show much more than when he saw them at Des Moines club Hairy Mary’s last summer.

“I was excited they played “Now or Never” — that turned me onto the other record [“Life”],” Goos said. “I thought they played a lot better than the first time I saw them and the show had a lot more energy to it.”

Between songs, Edsel polished up his stage raps, dedicating the song “What About … ” to all of the “stoned stoner motherfuckers in the place,” and the band’s cover of Dead or Alive’s ’80s hit “You Spin Me Round” to all of the girls.

Fans anxious for the new Dope album, which Edsel promised the band would deliver by summer, got a taste when the band performed “Bitch,” a new song that featured the lyrics “The one I love/ I hate/ but the sex is great.”

Before the band’s last song, Edsel introduced the track by announcing it was about the police department. Instantly, the crowd shouted “Fuck the Police” in unison and the band launched into its highly popular cover of the N.W.A. classic. The song’s chorus attracted a virtual tidal wave of raised arms with extended middle fingers.

At times the set came off as too polished and maybe even too choreographed for a band who carries an image of being from the gutter. But the band’s playing was as tight and precise as any band in the genre. Guitarist Virus showed Dope can still provide a thick guitar sound with only one guitarist and drummer Racci was absolutely brutal behind the set, smashing his drums further into submission each song.

If Dope’s set was one that had been gradually sculpted through the years, opening act Slitheryn’s was one of pure rawness and intensity. The band’s members are only in their teens, but Sunday night, Slitheryn showed the band could hang with the big boys.

From the band’s opening song, bassist Andrew C and guitarists Mike and Ant were whirlwinds on stage — spinning and thrashing with an unbridled energy that only 16-year-olds could have.

It was easy to see by the huge eyes and gaping mouths in the audience that some couldn’t believe the brutal music raging out of the speaker stacks was coming from kids who were so young.

Most impressive about the band was frontman Frankie, who is 13 years old and weighs in at about 90 pounds. His stage presence is unprecedented and his metal voice is downright unbelievable. There is no doubt that the smallest member of the band controls the stage and crowd. When Frankie demanded that concert patrons jump or get crazy during songs like “Hold on Tight” and “Lost,” the crowd did exactly that.

“I was really impressed with the way [the members of Slitheryn] were able to stay tight and keep control of the crowd considering how young they are,” Goos said.

At times, it was painfully obvious that although Frankie had an impressive metal growl, his singing voice hadn’t quite developed to where it needs to be. But in all honesty, that might have been the only flaw in the band’s otherwise fantastic set.

The moment of truth came when, despite protests from Frankie but urging from the crowd, the band played a cover of Slipknot’s “Eyeless.” Believe it or not, if you were to close your eyes and just listen, it would have been tough to distinguish the difference between the Des Moines masked men and the Chicago junior-high students.