We have realized that we are as much a Heavy Metal band as a Thrash Metal band, and we have embraced that part of our sound. When we in the past were a bit afraid to fall out of the Thrash Metal genre, we now are perfectly comfortable with having one foot in each camp. Its not by choice. Its only natural. Our inspirations come from many genres, but mainly from the Heavy- and Thrash Metal of the eighties. We can still do tribute shows with a lot of cover tunes, and sometimes we do. However, usually people want to hear our own stuff as well, so we are proud to do both. Most shows these days have more Under the Oak originals than cover songs, but we have a lot of fun playing live either way. Our philosophy is that our music really comes alive when performed in front of an audience, and we take a lot of pride in trying to sound better live than in the studio. We hope youll enjoy listening to Rattus Norvegicus. We certainly enjoyed making it