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For its first official show back in 1990 at the Hickory Auction Building in St. Joe, Full Power plastered fliers around town that asked a simple question: “Do You Like Heavy Metal?”

Back then, the closest any local band came to playing metal was covering Motley Crue. But Full Power has been playing metal fast, hard and loud for nearly 20 years, whether the band was covering Slayer in the early days or banging out its own originals.

“At that time, we were one of the only bands that were openly, like, metal,” says singer and guitarist Todd Cooper. “That attracted a lot of attention.”

And after nearly two decades, Cooper, guitarist David Matt, bassist Ryan Arn and drummer Bill Blizzard are calling it quits. Matt has moved to St. Louis for a job promotion, but the band is playing its final show at 10 p.m. Aug. 2 at The Rendezvous. Cover is $3, however, this being their last performance, those who show up will be getting their money’s worth.

Full Power will be playing every song the band has ever written Saturday night. They’ve had to go back and revisit early material like “Mel’s Diner” and other songs written back in high school. It’s been tough to try to relearn the material, but Matt says the group will have fun trying to power through it live.

“We’ll be playing loud and fast anyway, so no one may even notice the difference,” Matt says. “If anybody is going to actually look for perfection, they’re going to be at the wrong place.”

But fans of Full Power never looked for perfection. They just enjoyed Cooper’s banter with the crowd like they were a bunch of friends sitting in on a basement jam, and of course the driving, fast, thrashy metal that has kept early fans dedicated, new fans coming out and has spawned other local hard rock/metal groups, according to Rendezvous owner Jimmy Green.

“Full Power has influenced a lot of bands, local bands, in terms of ‘You can play this. People like it,’” he says. “There’s going to be a lot of applause and a lot of tears that night.”

Throughout their time as a band, Full Power has gone from covering Metallica at Krug Park to opening up for metal idols Prong in KC. They’ve gotten solicited by one record label and rejected by countless others. They’ve had the hunger for national music success in their youth eventually tamed by the responsibilities of adulthood. But they’ve had couples meet at their shows and eventually marry. They’ve seen the impact of their music up close with every fan who sings their songs, the fun they have on stage, the camaraderie they’ve forged as a group.

While Full Power may have never broken out of St. Joe or made big bucks, Cooper says it was never about that.

“We’ve put thousands of dollars into this band. Never did it for money. Never made the money back. We just loved doing it,” Cooper says. “I feel like we made it anyway.”