formed in October 1981,[4] from the demise of late 1970s punk band The East Paterson Boys Choir.
Buy Our Records became one of New Jersey's largest indie punk labels and springboarded the careers of many bands including Flag of Democracy, Raging Slab, and Pussy Galore.
showcased the band's use of blazing speed-punk and sarcastic lyrics, taking aim at the suburban experience with songs like "Middle Aged Whore",[4] "Trans Am" (the inspiration for the Dead Milkmen's "Bitchin' Camaro"), and the crowd favorite "Rock n' Roll Gas Station".
Tracks that exhibit the band's quirky sense of humor include a punk rock cover of Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk", a surf rock version of "Hava Nagila" entitled "Surfin' Jew", and a track entitled "Masterpiece" which is a punk reworking of Jean-Joseph Mouret's Fanfare-Rondeau from Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper (which the band knew only as the theme from the PBS TV series Masterpiece Theatre).
Their last release Ishtar produced by Andy Shernoff Dictators for Restless/Enigma Records saw the band starting to lose their momentum and interest.
as a major influence include NOFX, Anthrax, Screeching Weasel, Bouncing Souls, Night Birds, Municipal Waste, Darkthrone, and S.O.D.
He rejoined Mental Decay again for a short time in 1996 to record and play a number shows.
Band members Bruce Wingate and Wayne Garcia went on to form a three-man band Bruce Wayne in tribute to both of their first names and the secret identity of comic book hero Batman.
In the mid-1990s Wingate was the musical director for two tours by cult figure Harvey Sid Fisher.
He also formed a joke-techno band called Total Dick which progressed and renamed itself to District Allstarz.
Drummer Dave Scott spent three years with the ill-fated New Jersey "supergroup" Scrooge (later Grimelord) with members of Genocide and Niblick Henbane, before going on to Atlantic Recording artists Lucy's Trance.
has reunited several times, including a benefit for CBGB's, along with The Dead Boys, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, and Flipper in August 2005.