Year of the Rat

2012’s No Order EP marks Year of the Rat’s second official release, and things couldn’t be trending any better for the four Victoria, BC misfits. Recorded in Sidney and mixed in Ladysmith—two small ports of call on the East Coast of Vancouver Island—the band has taken a large step towards realizing its ideal sound. “This record is a real announcement of the direction we want to go in,” says Sam Coll, the band’s lead singer. “I don’t think we’re all the way there by any means, we still have a lot of growth to achieve, but in terms of the types of songs we will continue to write, No Order is a representative album.” Formed in 2009, Year of the Rat’s story is one of perseverance and innovation. The band came together as so many bands do, with the dissolution of their previous group (Device Box) forcing band mates Ryan Stringer (bass) and Mike Sanderson (guitar) to look for a new project. After hooking up with Coll on craigslist, the group began to write songs that drew from the variety of their influences: heavy metal, new wave, electronica, hard rock and blues. Numerous live shows solidified a blistering set that the group took to the studio in the ... more...