Chosen by Monk

This Belfast four piece, whom I first stumbled across during last year’s Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition, in which I have to admit I regarded them as something of an incongruous wild card but somehow managed to deservedly fight their way through to the final, are taking us into the #Unknown with this, their fourth single, and second to win our prestigious #DailyPick award:

The band filled me in on their background:

Everybody at some point have played in the same band with each other through the years. Ciaran [Buchanan – bass] and Mark [Russell – guitar] were in a band together back in 2007-08. Ciaran and Michael [Smith] were [also] in a band together called Green Monkey. Mark and Michael were in a band together called Thrones Of Roll, and Mark and Adam [Mullan – vocals] were in a cover band together…then one day, to quote Spinal Tap, “We looked at each other and says we may as well…join up y’know?”

As for the band’s name?

Most people think the name is in reference to Reservoir Dogs and that lovely song by Level 42…and they’re right-ish! The true thinking behind the name was that it doesn’t immediately suggest any style or genre. It can be applicable to anything, which is how we try to approach the music. Doesn’t matter what it is, if it feels good, do it! Musically speaking of course!

We’re influenced by many artists, such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queen, Nightwish, Peter Gabriel, Muse and The Police to name a few. We love genres such as grunge, funk, disco – and K-Pop! Our sound is pretty fluid, one song can be a pure funkathon, then the next song can be a full on metal headbanger…something for all the family!

They also offered some insight into their creative process:

Usually, our songs tend to come from jams in the practice room, or maybe someone has a particular idea they want to try out, and invariably within the space of a practice session it becomes a song. On this occasion, the music for ‘Unknown’ was an idea from a backing track demo Mark had kicking around. The basic structure for the music was pretty much already there. We tried it out quickly in rehersal, Michael and Ciaran added their touches to spice things up, namely a luscious bass solo from Ciaran to exemplify the funky exuberance of the track. Adam took care of the lyrics as everybody else added their quirks that ultimately make the song what you hear now.

Most of the time, Adam will come up with the vocal melody first during practice sessions. According to Adam, “The process came quite naturally, the riffs and the rhythmic feel of the verses whereas the chorus has more of a rockier epic feel. It felt like stepping into something different, the traversal between the two lyrically came very naturally. The song is mainly about putting yourself into an unfamiliar territory. Changing the rut that you may find yourself in, bad job, bad relationship etc. As a result, trying to change things up and force yourself away from the negativity and turn it into something positive.”

Regarding how reflective ‘Unknown’ is of the overall sound of the band, Adam says:

I think the song shows the blending of two of the styles we use quite often, we have a very funky side to our music and then we have that rockier, heavier side of our music, and we manage to put the two together in this song.

During a busy 2024, which included that M2TM appearance, the band was put on hold after Mark was diagnosed with Stage Three bowel cancer. However, after removal surgery and still at present undergoing chemotherapy, [we] pressed ahead in October 2024 with the aim of recording more music for 2025 release.

‘Unknown’ was recorded in Tree Song Studios with Michael Mormecha producing. The individual parts were recorded quite quickly within a day or two. Significantly, unlike the other songs recorded in this session, we were advised by Michael not to play to a click track on this occasion, as he felt the general swing and groove of the song may be diminished had we been tied down by a click. We gave it a try and couldn’t be happier with the results it produced.

Regarding the music video, initially we didn’t have any aspirations of making a music video as we are already knee deep in another music video currently in the works for a further future single release coming soon! However, after consideration, we did feel it’d be a shame not to have a visual to accompany the song. So, very last minute and off the cuff, we shot the video in our practice room, using one film camera, three mobile phones, some fairy lights, a few strobe lights and arranging the room in such a way that it could give the impression of a studio setting but also simultaneously, that of a live/rehearsal setting as well, gathering as many angles as possible in the process.

It only took a few hours to film, then when it came to editing, Mark created the edit right through the early hours of the next morning, then before midday we had a video! We feel the rough, somewhat frantic and haphazard spectacle of the video coincides rather well with the vibe of the song, hopefully others feel the same!

As for the future of the band?

We have many more songs written and recorded, three of which will be released throughout the course of 2025, keep your eyes and ears peeled! Our next single after ‘Unknown’ will be ‘Psycho’, scheduled for release on 29 May.

  • Mr Pink support PTRNS at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall on Friday 21 February. They then play the Ulster Social Club on Thursday 27 March.