These Northern Irish newcomers may go by the name Quiet Neighbours, but we suspect you’d be issuing your fair share of noise complaints if you had them living next door to you. The band offers up powerful guitars and engaging vocals with elements of grunge, nu-metal, metalcore and modern metal in an intriguing sound they describe as “chaotic, dreamy and dissonant.”
The North Belfast quintet was started by long-time friends Ryan Fowler (vocals) and Jack McMinn (guitar) in 2019. They brought guitarist Jamie McMinn on board and the trio began a weekly jam and writing session night before completing the lineup with Ryan Gillespie (bass) and Chris Allen (drums). The band initially went by the name Next Wednesday, on account of early rehearsals being every Wednesday, and, believe it or not, started out writing pop and R&B songs.
As Jamie explains: “In some unspoken way, that felt safe and no one had any objections. As time went on and relationships evolved, we discovered we all had a passion in some way or another for heavier music. All in all, this time was short-lived, though, due to COVID and the ensuing instability that everyone faced through 2020/21. Fast forward to normalcy, we scrapped our previous material, rebranded as Quiet Neighbours and the first song written as the new band was actually our debut single Better Than Me.
“Now here we are, fully committed to our underlying metal and metalcore influence. The initial run of music as Next Wednesday was integral to our development – without it we wouldn’t have been able to refine our tastes and build off of each other to be the band that we are now. It’s been a slow burn, but it finally feels like the right formula has been achieved.”
And on the current Quiet Neighbours sound, Jamie added: “Instrumentally, it’s a contrast between bleak and beautiful – sonically wide dark riffs encompassing thin toppy synthesisers. Lyrically, the content is open to interpretation with heavy use of metaphor(s) hiding the meaning directly from the listeners – with the vast majority of our content, you can take away different meanings, so there’s a subjective aspect to the sound too.”
Our latest taste of this certainly verges on the heavier side in their single ROT, which was released last month. The track opens up with a lively intro led by a delicious driving riff that kicks on with heavier drums. That continues as engaging vocals join in, building up to a powerful chorus led by searing vocals. A building riff kicks into life as it flows into another verse, before guitar chords set up a heavier section with big chunky downturned guitars and a funky synth sound which flows into a big chorus. The pace drops after the chorus, but more heavy guitars jump in to set up a crushing outro.
On the track, Jamie told us: “The reception has been great! Being able to capitalise and play it live for the first ever time at Metal to the Masses on its release day was definitely advantageous. Hearing the positive reception to both the live rendition and the track itself was surreal. ROT itself was almost a soft launch of the sound while still remaining true to the core of Quiet Neighbours. So, listeners should expect melody buried in dissonance and chaotic energy.” Check out ROT in the video here:
ROT follows the more laid-back debut single Better Than Me, which opens up with dreamy guitars dropping into a mellow opening verse. A quick burst of heavy guitar chords tee up a gorgeous atmospheric chorus, which drops into another chilled-out verse. It shifts gear slightly as moodier vocals are supported by drawn-out guitars then cool stabbing guitars segue into a big atmospheric chorus to bring the track to a close. Check it out in the video here:
The Quiet Neighbours sound has been heavily influenced by Deftones along with the likes of Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, Biffy Clyro and Queens of the Stone Age.
And on what inspires them to write music, Jamie explains: “No topic is off limits – we draw inspiration from our lives and literature. Be it past relationships, mortality, historical events, current events. A lot of that depends on how a writing session is going and how we are feeling on the day about particular things/events – a lot of songs are re-written and re-written, which is just a part of our process!”
It’s been a little while since we featured any Northern Irish bands and this is only the second metal band we’ve covered from the country. So we asked Jamie for his thoughts on their local scene, and he told us: “While thriving, the metal scene in Northern Ireland still feels more underground than anything. Though, that’s about to change due to both the massive amount of talent that’s been emerging over the last couple of years and the huge support and push metal bands are receiving from promotors such as The Distortion Project and venues such as Limelight and Voodoo hosting a multitude of metal gigs.
“Attend any metal gig in Belfast, and you’ll hear some absolutely jaw-dropping talent. You can also hear the metal influences seeping into other genres within Belfast so it’s definitely a genre that is ready to burst. We think that’s due to the resurgence that metal and its subgenres have seen worldwide. It’s incredible to see metal back in the mainstream.”
There’s plenty more to come from Quiet Neighbours, as they look to play more live gigs to grow their audience. They also have a new single coming, which Jamie says: “Has that modern feel mixed with classic Nu-Metal riffs and vocals. As it stands, we’ve gigged it twice and the reception has been totally reaffirming.” So expect much more hard-hitting goodness from this exciting new band as they, in Jamie’s words, “add a few extra low strings to the guitars.”
You can follow Quiet Neighbours on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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