Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Ireland is a box full of surprises. It goes without saying that it’s home to U2, Thin Lizzy and The Cranberries, among many others. In recent years, this European country has introduced Fontaines D.C., Inhaler, Dermot Kennedy, Pillow Queens and many more to the world stage. These bands are all different, but they share one thing in common: they’re Irish.
Not everything happens in the capital, Dublin. All kinds of offerings can be found across the country, and lately, a particular band from County Donegal in the northwest has been making waves: Kraik. Consisting of vocalist Joey Dirt (real name Joey McLaughlin), guitarists Shaun McGonagle and Kevin McDaid, and drummer Nigel Colhoun, the group has attracted public and press attention for their unique mix of styles ranging from Seattle grunge (Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains) to Meshuggah’s groove metal, djent and alternative rock.
In early January Chaoszine sat down with Joey Dirt to learn more about the band, life in Donegal, their plans for the year, and other details.
The first thing that caught my attention about the band is that Kraik presents itself on Instagram as a ‘Messhugrunge’ group. When I listen to “Automaton: Egregore”, the latest single, I hear riffs from Meshuggah and elements from Opeth’s early days, but when it gets to the chorus, there are melodies and vocals reminiscent of Layne Staley/Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains. How did this particular mix of styles come about?
I guess it’s just all our influences put into one. We kind of have an idea, and like I guess, a lot of my background is I grew up listening to a lot of grunge music, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden. Our drummer is a very big Meshuggah fan, so we want to mix both, because we don´t really think that there’s any bands really doing exactly what we’re doing.
How do you pronounce the band’s name? It comes from the Irish slang phrase “What’s the craic?”, doesn’t it?
Yes, exactly. We’re all big fans of Korn, too, so that’s where the K in the name comes from.
What are the group’s plans for this year?
Our plans for 2026 are to hopefully finally hit the stage. We are all, I guess you could say, seasoned musicians. We’ve played in many bands before. But as of yet, we’ve kind of had a revolving door of members in Kraik. We’re just working on building up our online presence, and hopefully this year we’ll get on the stage
Going back to Kraik’s influences, I saw the Spotify playlist you put together and wasn’t surprised to see bands from other genres such as Muse, Incubus and others. It’s clear that you’re very open-minded when it comes to styles.
Absolutely, we listen to all kinds of music.
You are from County Donegal, north-western Ireland. How is the music scene there, and what would it take for more bands from other parts of Ireland to break through?
I think the scene in Donegal is non-existent. So, like I mentioned before, everyone in this band used to played in different groups and some of these bands we played in together. Our local scene was the next county over, called Derry, in the north of Ireland. So that was our local scene, really. Maybe in Letterkenny and Donegal, you’d get gigs sometimes, but not much of a scene. But Derry it was always thriving, there was always so many bands there and that’s starting to come back a little bit now. It kind of went away for a while, but it’s starting to pick up again now. But really where it’s at is Dublin and Belfast, like with everywhere capital cities. And I think to break through, you kind of… It helps if you are from these areas, Dublin or Belfast. Or if you are not from these areas, you need to have something to offer. Something different.
Some extra sauce.
Exactly.
How would you describe life there? I know you have lots of cliffs and beaches. Is there anywhere you’d recommend for a few pints?
For a few pints? Everywhere, especially in Donegal. No, to be honest, it’s kind of quiet now. A lot of the population in Donegal has gone to Australia, because there is not much work here. So everyone just kind of hops on a ship. But it’s a very beautiful place, so I would recommend, rather than the pints, I would recommend maybe for the scenery. Go to Malin Head and take in the views and walk around the cliffs. Not much else to do (chuckles).
What message would you give to those who do not know Kraik?
It might seem a bit strange at first. Such a mix of different styles of music. But I think maybe the more you listen, there’s a little bit for everybody. So we’ve got singing, we’ve got screaming; we’ve got heavy, we have a bit of light. So come see us play live when we do play live. That’s when we really shine, I hope.
