Metal music at its finest

Move over Metallica and Slayer, and make some room for the new competitors for the metal crown, Saved By Sin. Its members consist of Ben ‘Dynamite’ Poitras on vocals, Cory ‘Cream’ Hamilton on bass, Denis ‘Heavy’ Andre on guitar, and Steph ‘Slick’ Couture on Drums. These new young masters of metal have created a sound that sticks in your head like gum does to your shoe. They’re convoluted melodies made up of dynamic and overpowering bass riffs and a vigorous and relentlessly forceful drumming sound. The immaculate guitar riffs are perfectly combined with snarling power chords and vibrant chugging, and the vocals are fierce and unmerciful but Ben’s hypnotizing melodic singing voice breaks up that wide range of screams nicely.
Saved by Sin were announced as the winners of the Super Nova competition, that also made famous bands like Sum 41. They gave a mind blowing performance at Reggie’s bar last Friday with amazing stage presence and a super tight set. Saved By Sin is a new metal band that matters. Ben Poitras and Denis Andre took a few minutes after the show to talk to us about who Saved By Sin really is.

Where did your nicknames come from?

Denis Andre: I got Heavy in high school I was 6’6″ and 245 lbs.
Ben Poitras: The nicknames are pretty much based on our personality, Cory, our bass player, is known for keeping smooth rhythms, and that is why we call him Cream. We call Steph, our drummer, Slick because of when he was growing his hair out and he could he would always wet his hands and run them through his hair. He was always slicked up.

Where did you get the name Saved By Sin? What does it mean?

DA: It means whatever you want it to mean. I wrote down a whole bunch of names that should never ever even be repeated, but Saved By Sin was one of them.
BP: The meaning of saved by sin does not necessarily mean to live a sinful lifestyle it’s the exact opposite of that; where leading that sinful lifestyle is the thing is what saves you. It makes you realize how to rectify your life and your mistakes so that you are actually being saved by sin because you never know how good life can be until you’ve experienced some of the bad stuff.

How do you describe your musical style?

BP: It’s like delivering hard ons through hard music.
DA: That’s probably the best explanation for it, if there was an explanation for it.

Who are your greatest influences and inspirations?

BP: I would not be singing heavy metal music if it were not for Jessie Leech and Randy Blythe. The “Alive or Just Breathing” record by Killswitch Engaged is ground breaking. It opened my eyes to the talent of having chore screaming at all levels of highs combined with melodic singing parts I didn’t know a human could make these sounds.
DA: To me A New American Gospel changed metal. Everything from New Age Metal to Classical music influenced me in a way.

What other then music inspires you?

BP: It’s all about human awareness, I study people; I admire them and hate them at the same time. Human beings are complex. We have so many angles and we’re not limited to one feeling or one emotion. You could write about people and have a different thing to say every second of the day.

Where do you guys find the passion and energy to play shows?

DA: A lot has to do with each other, we all draw energy from each other; we are all having so much fun, it’s surreal I guess.
BP: I definitely suck it from watching DVDs of my favourite bands.

What’s your favorite song to play live?

BP: I like old classic Poet, it has every thing you could want in a heavy metal song. We got speed metal, blast beats, crazy chugs so you could just plant your feet in a metal stance and rock out. Melodic singing and whaling screams, that to me is all you need in a live show.
DA: Claiming Infamy, because it’s a crowd pleaser and you need to play songs like that to keep the crowd excited.

Speaking of Claiming Infamy, what are the messages or ideals that you are trying to get across?

BP: Claiming Infamy is about a human desire for fame. Everybody wants to be famous, everybody wants to be known but for some people they feel that the easy way to get there is to do something atrocious, like a school shooting, to just want to put there name on the map, just like Ted Bundy or Charles Manson did. That song is pretty much about the human blood lust, the desire to steal from people.

Why the long hair?

BP: First I had to talk everyone into to doing in. For me it just hurts your goddamn head if you don’t have long hair. You don’t have a flow, you look and feel like a dork. So I grew the hair and Steph followed and then Denis. Since Cory can’t grow heavy metal hair we make him shave his head.

What cool effects would you add to your show, price is not an option?

BP: Dancers in cages, and dancers on the ground with strobe lights, maybe a confetti cannon and hot dog vendors.
DA: Strippers.

What is your instrument progression?

DA: I started with the Ibanez, to a Washburn, and now a Jackson, but if I could play anything it would be 1973 Gibson Les Paul.

What did you learn about the music business?

BP: You have to learn how to talk to people and you have to be professional. You wouldn’t even believe how much a 30 second conversation could matter. Where we are right now, playing our shows, most of it has been done over the telephone with people we have never met.
DA: We have learned to manage ourselves and I think we’ve done pretty well so far, we just have to get to the next level.

What would you say your greatest accomplishment as a band has been so far?

DA: Writing new music all the time, it’s about a constant progression.

What would like to see happen for your band?

BP: 100 percent help, we are ready, we want to just make it all about the music, commit to it full time. Any show with our band you are promised a great performance, whether we are playing for empty beer bottles or ash trays you are guaranteed a great time.

Final words of wisdom to our readers?

BP: Dynamite! No wait, keep it real and stay in school.
DA: Peace, love and heavy metal.

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