For some reason, Montenegro doesn’t get a lot of love on this here show. It is definitely not by design. Maybe it’s just the way things are. Or, more like it, maybe it’s shoddy research. Be that as it may, this changes today. At least for a while. Ladies and gentlemen, Balkan Express is happy to introduce Štrajk Mozga

Štrajk Mozga or Brain on Strike is an all-male Montenegrin act which took its sweet time to mature. Not to push a stereotype too much, but they sure are Montenegrin, right? Formed in 2016, they are basically a couple of guys who wanted to jam together. And lo-behold, suddenly they had a band

Štrajk Mozga started out by covering punk classics. Pretty soon, however, they started exploring their own material. By 2018, they already had a setlist to call their own. Which came in really handy as they toured the region’s various music festivals.

To that last point, Štrajk Mozga made quite an impression back in 2018 when they won the Podgorica guitar festival, setting off a two-year run which culminated with an appearance at the Sarajevo Rock Festival in the summer of 2019 and a competition later in that year, that won them a session in a recording studio.

It was that recording session that really kicked things into gear for Štrajk Mozga. It provided an impetus for finishing some of the songs they were still working on and to tweak others, so that together they could share an album.

After pandemic-induced break, Štrajk Mozga managed to record and mix their debut album in mid-2020. Titled Mind Slaves, it showcases the musical ability of the band, as it tackles various rock sub-genres in each of the songs. But the album also tells a complete story, from start to finish.

Štrajk Mozga are frontman Aleksandar Nikčević, bass guitarist Dušan Mijušković, guitarist Dušan Dobrilović and drummer Novica Stanišić. And if media reports are to be believed, this Montenegrin band is already hard at work on their second album.

And that’s all the time we have for today. Check out Štrajk Mozga on YouTube, Facebook and wherever you get your music from and Balkan Express will be back next week.