Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Timothy Womack (right) grimaces as he loses to his brother, Christopher, in a Guitar Hero III tournament at The Franklin Center in Rocky Mount on Saturday. Timothy, 10, ended up in second place in his age division, and Christopher, 12, finished third.

Taylor Brabson, 13, participates in Saturday's Guitar Hero III tournament in Rocky Mount. Players worked their way through one-on-one pairings in the double-elimination tournament.

Franklin County's finest virtual rockers squared off in a battle of shredding and button-mashing Saturday, as about 30 people played for trophies and glory in a Guitar Hero III tournament.

The sounds of Slayer, Metallica, Foghat and Kiss rolled through The Franklin Center in downtown Rocky Mount as three age groups competed in the event, which was sponsored by the county's park and recreation department.

Players completed in double-elimination tournaments, working their way through one-on-one pairings.

Raislin Brabson, 12, a Calloway resident who went undefeated in his age group, explained how it works.

"You have a rock meter. If you're doing good, it goes all the way to green. If you're missing a lot of notes, it goes down to the red zone. If it goes down too far, you lose. See those spiky notes? If you get those, you get power ups and can make it harder for the other guy."

Raislin had a few advantages headed into the tournament: He plays drums in a band with his sister Taylor. And his musical tastes run toward metal -- a genre that's well-represented on Guitar Hero III's playlists.

One of his opponents in the early stages, 11-year-old Dakota Cramblitt of Rocky Mount, confessed that he prefers country music -- which seems to have few if any songs available to players.

Just behind Raislin in the final standings were a pair of brothers: Timothy Womack, 10, who finished second, and his brother Christopher, 12, who finished third.

Their mother, Jennifer Womack, doesn't play -- "I can't quite get my fingers moving right" -- but she and her husband do watch when their sons are playing.

Watching the streaming guitar frets for too long can be disorienting, though. "You watch the notes and get dizzy after a while," Womack said.

Josh Whitt, 17, plays in the same band as Raislin and Taylor Brabson. He wasn't competing in the tournament on Saturday, but he did talk a bit about the difference between the game and the real thing. Josh started playing Guitar Hero at age 15, but he hasn't been playing so much since he got a real guitar for his 16th birthday.

"You get used to buttons and strings feel weird," Josh said. "And then you get used to strings and the buttons feel weird."

One boy threw down the game's guitar in frustration and was scolded for his poor sportsmanship. But most of the players ended each game -- win or lose -- with a handshake. In Timothy and Christopher Womack's case, anyway, there's always the chance for a rematch at home.