Savage Aural Hotbed have all the tools for a frightening Halloween show.

Drills, saws, grinders, even chain saws. But rather than frighten their audience, the found-object percussion band prefers to awe them.

Hotbed plays the power tools like instruments, adding a bass guitar, electronically modified horns and a few vocals to complete their sound.

Visually, they provide a similar excitement, with all four members drumming simultaneously, exposing synchronized arm movements and flying sparks.

Sharing time between theaters and clubs, Hotbed headlined their first Halloween performance a year ago at the famed First Ave. in their home town of Minneapolis. Also included on the bill was the Seattle percussion band, Tchnung.

“Each city has a band or two trying the found-object percussion thing,” Hotbed member William Melton said. “Electric music, in general, is growing and that causes more people to listen to bands like us.”

Melton insisted that more and more people are getting “thirsty for non-rock-based music” and that techno music has helped open listeners to the idea of music without vocals.

Hotbed are planning to return the favor to techno music by releasing a CD of dance mixes of their songs. According to Melton, different people will be doing the remixes.

“We just finished recording our new album, which should be out by February,” Melton said. “The dance mix CD should be out by August.”

The tentatively titled The Pressure of Silence disc follows Hotbed’s acclaimed debut, Cold is the Absence of Heat. All four members contributed writing the songs on the new disc, using methods based on prime numbers.

“We have one where we cram threes, fours and fives together,” he said about the sophisticated drumming.

Hotbed lists Japanese Taiko drumming and cutting edge industrial as their major influences.

Although Die Warzua’s Jim Marcus produced their first disc, Melton said they have strayed some from the industrial influence.

“There aren’t any industrial bands here,” he said. Hotbed haseven considered moving to city with a better equipped percussion scene.

“San Francisco has a pretty vibrant percussion scene,” Melton said. “We’re pretty limited here in touring. We can’t really drive North or West.”

Minneapolis has provided something for Hotbed that may be hard to come by. The quartet gets to spend four weeks in one theater, playing a performance art show three nights a week.

According to Melton, staying in the same room allows them to bring in larger objects that they would not normally be able to carry around with them.

“We also have a theme with each performance art show,” Melton said. “We’re still in the planning stages now, but we’re going with a danger theme this year. Doing things on stage that put us in dangerous positions and forcing our audience to face danger.”

Melton said they usually take out pieces from their art show and bring them into the clubs.

Hotbed made their Ames debut on the Terrace of the Memorial Union last year for Veishea, a venue the band is not used to.

“The sparks aren’t as effective,” he said. “And the sound has more of an impact bouncing off the walls indoors.”

You can catch Savage Aural Hotbed inside at the M-Shop tomorrow night. The show begins at 9 p.m., with student admission at $3.