Please tell us about the history of your band and its members
We are a  metal band based out of Toronto, Canada. Jay "Beard" Sarrazin (Lead Vocals/Guitar) Tiny Basstank (Bass/Backup Vocals) Steve "Animal" Mitchell (Drums/ Backup Vocals) and Liam Maguire (Guitar/Backup Vocals), We are Canadian born musicians and draw our  sound from many places, bands and genres.  Taking inspiration from the thrash kings like Metallica, Slayer and Pantera and combining it with bands like Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and In Flames, we try and touch all spectrums of metal and aren't afraid to spread our wings and try something different and daring. We are dedicated to writing actual songs and albums and bringing metal back to the era of long lasting music that can be listened to for years to come.  We have an obsession with growing and hard work and it shows in our live performances and in our non-stop attitude to take the next step in bringing real metal back to the world and to the fans from the 80's all the way to the present. We have years of touring in our other bands (Caym, Burning The Day, A Sin For A Prayer) and kind of feel like a mini local super group. We are hungrier than ever and excited to show our dominance as a force to reckon with in the Canadian metal scene and soon worldwide.

Jay “Beard” Sarrazin - Starting music at the age of 8, Beard grew up in a musical family in Montreal, Quebec. At age 12 his family moved to Toronto, Ontario and he started to grow his musical obsession from rock and roll to metal and from pop to blues. Throughout the years Beard developed a love for heavy metal as well as writing and composing music. As a self-taught guitar player and drummer he wrote music with the approach of a full band and was determined to bring back great song writing to metal. Spending a decade writing for his first band, Beard grew into a full on song writer and started to find himself and his sound. Part ways through this growth he became the frontman and singer of his band and began his accent as a force to watch out for. While working in the industry as a stage hand and guitar tech he learned the amount of dedication, suffering and hard work it takes to make it in the music industry and set his goals on not only writing great music but being as professional as possible in every aspect. He is strongly influenced by metal bands such as Metallica, Pantera, Gojira, Unearth, Killswitch Engage and In Flames as well as great song writers such as Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Elton John, The Eagles, Queen and Eric Clapton.

Liam Maguire - Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Liam Maguire graduated from the legendary Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, in 2014. During his time in the United States Liam shared the stage with, and studied under such greats as Carl Schroeder (Sara Vaughan), Greg Harrison (Hed P.E., P.D.P.), Scott Henderson (Tribal Tech, Chick Corea Elektric Band), and Alex Macachek (FAT, Virgil Donati). His passion for music began at an early age playing the violin, performing with the Mississauga Youth Orchestra, and the P.C.S.S. Advanced Chamber Strings Ensemble. Liam has been performing in various bands with styles ranging from blues, and jazz to classic rock, and heavy metal His specialties include improvisation, performance, and combining contemporary techniques with classical knowledge. Liam is influenced by Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Children of Bodom, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix.

Tiny Basstank - Born in the early 80s Tiny showed an interest in music as early as 4 years old, strumming on his parent’s guitar. After showing more interest in playing guitar his parents bought him his first guitar around the age of 12. Starting first on the 6 string guitar, Tiny played with friends until finding that a guitar fingerboard was small for his large hands. Tiny discovered bass at the age of 15 and fell in love with the low end of the instrument. Learning the instrument as he went along, he improved his skills and joined his first band with school friends that same year. Starting with the Punk and Ska scene of the mid 90s in Burlington, Ontario. It wasn’t until OzzFest 2001, where he was given a free ticket, that he fell in love with metal music. The loud detuned instruments and the pure emotion brought along with the sound. Tiny continued to find his own sound while joining multiple bands and furthering himself in the local music scene. He continues to improve himself driven by his passion and desire to play music and entertain the people of the world. He is strongly influenced by Mudvayne, Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Soilwork, Slipknot, Mushroomhead, Rancid, Operation Ivy, The Planet Smashers, Reel Big Fish and Sylosis.

Steve “The Animal” Mitchell - Steve “The Animal” Mitchell was born into a musical family in July of 1984. In 1994 his father Glen Mitchell, a working drummer at the time, came home to find Steve playing his drums. Steve immediately showed a natural skill for playing and showed a great comprehension to timing, a solid pocket and understanding of drums at only 10 years old. So much, that both his parents (Glen and Janice) put him into drum lessons right away. This is when Steve met Canadian renowned drummer and future mentor Jeff Salem. As Steve progressed with theory over the years he was growing his musical influences constantly and started to outgrow just lessons. He and a friend from high school decided to give it a shot start their own band. They started covering bands like Green Day and Blink 182 until they started writing their own songs. Over the next 18 years, along with playing in many bands, Steve travelled abroad to further his musical and life experiences. Steve also picked up 2nd Place in the annual Roland V-Drums Contest in 2012 hosted at the legendary 20th anniversary of the Montreal Drumfest. It was through these experiences that Steve became “The Animal”, taking after another Steve Mitchell born in 1928 who was a good friend of Jim Henson and became the model style for his Muppet “Animal”. Steve is heavily influenced by Metallica, Dream Theater, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Blink 182, Sum 41, Cannibal Corpse, Goldfinger, The Salads and The Used.

How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Truthfully we would describe our style as original or just metal. We don’t feel like we fit in anywhere to be honest yet we feel like we can fit in anywhere if that makes sense. We really all have such different backgrounds in music as well as where we take our inspiration from. Our taste spans from metal, pop, rock and roll, punk, blues, country and so many other places. So we try to just write music and not put ourselves into a style or genre.  Some influences for us include ands like Metallica, Dream Theater, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Blink 182, Sum 41, Cannibal Corpse, Goldfinger, The Salads and The Used, Rancid, Operation Ivy, The Planet Smashers, Reel Big Fish and Sylosis, Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Children of Bodom, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Elton John, The Eagles, Queen and Eric Clapton.

Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
If you’re looking for something different and something you can just bang your head to, this is probably the album you want to buy. If you want to understand the lyrics and sing along with us, this is probably the album to buy. If you struggle with mental illness, anxiety or depression, this is probably the album you want to buy. If you want to hear something that doesn’t sound like every other band, this is the album you want to buy. If you love metal…….. period…… this is the album you want to buy. 

What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We have nothing released at the moment. Our debut record “Badder Than Brooklyn” produced by Gojira’s Joe Duplaniter drops on October 6th this fall. We are super excited to see what people think about this record and we really hope it’s received well by the public and the media.

Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Our first show is October 7th at Che Buritos  in Hamilton, ON at Hess Village. It is the kick off to our Canadian wide “Out of the Sewer Tour” that spans across British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. We are really excited for this tour and can’t wait to start performing this material live for everyone

What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
We believe that no one sounds like us. We have something original and daring. We aren’t afraid to be ourselves and not follow trends. We don’t want to fit in with everyone in terms of bands, we want to stand apart from everyone. On top of that we have a reputation for being some of the hardest working guys in the local scenes and beyond. Our live performance is also high energy. We don’t find too many bands, even in the professional circuit that put on a show like us. We have a tenacity about this band and a very high work ethic to go along with that. So label or no label, we have our eyes set on being one of the biggest bands in the world someday. 

What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Our near future you can expect lots of shows and touring. We plan on releasing a couple of music videos in the winter and also some really cool merch that we haven’t made as of yet but is in the works. At the moment we aren’t really shopping for a label but we are always open to discussing anything with anyone. Our door is always open. Hopefully in a year or so we will start working on our follow up record.

Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can check us out at decaturmetal.com where you can connect with our social media, buy our album and merch, listen to music, watch videos and instantly connect with us. You can also pre order our record right now at decaturmetal.bandcamp.com.

September 2017