Professional Murder Music are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California… Read Full Bio ↴Professional Murder Music are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999. Roman Marisak and Jeff Schartoff –formerly of the LA rock act Human Waste Project (Marisak a frequent guitar player for HWP) came together. Schartoff and Marisak soon recruited drummer Justin Bennett (Skinny Puppy, Thrill Kill Kult, Peter Murphy), and guitarist Brian Harrah (Tura Satana) and adopted the name Professional Murder Music.

Within months the band’s arrival on the L.A. music scene PMM had signed with Geffen Records and began recording their self-titled debut. Wasting no time, PMM teamed up with renowned rock producer Josh Abraham (KORN, Staind) and invited such guests as Dave Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy) and Troy Van Leeuwen (A Perfect Circle) to assist with the record. With this major release, PMM was put on the road to support it with like-minded acts as Marilyn Manson, Staind, Cold, Powerman 5000 and Kid Rock. PMM also played to an onslaught of die-hard fans at the Tattoo the Earth Festival with the likes of Slipknot, Sevendust and Slayer. The video for their first single “Slow” went into rotation on MTV, MTV2 and MTVX and inspired MTV to use the song as a music bed for a behind the scenes bit on Eminem. “Slow”, “Fall Again”, and The Cure remake “A Night Like This” were used on several soundtracks including Ginger Snaps, Valentine and the platinum selling End of Days. “All Lost Things” and “Start Again” from PMM’s 2003 release Looking Through have been featured on several productions including MTV’s “The Real World”. PMM’s music continues to be a soundtrack favourite and is also frequently used by The Howard Stern Show in advertising and promotional spots.

LOOKING THROUGH (2003)

After the release of Professional Murder Music in 2001, the band’s creators began to feel increasingly dissatisfied with the direction of their career at the hands of management and label personnel who no longer seemed to share the same vision. During the recording process of what was to become
Looking Through, the band also saw the departure of guitarist Brian Harrah and (subsequently) drummer Justin Bennett who left the band to pursue other personal interests. Meanwhile, Roman Marisak simply assumed all guitar duties and continued work on the recording. Looking Through features 10 songs, each with a specific message and a carefully mastered sound. Like their debut record, Looking Through features a few good friends such as Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) on drums on “Disconnect”, Jason Miller
of Godhead doing backing vocals on “Don’t Stop“ and Buzz McCoy of Thrill Kill Kult performing remix duties on “Something New”.

Rather than going down the road of major label disaster again, the band decided to release Looking Through independently, leaving them with more control. PMM created Wormhole Records and acquired national distribution through Underground, Inc./Caroline.

In support of their new release, Professional Murder Music joined 2003’s United II Tour featuring Dope and Pigface. In 2004, PMM embarked on it’s first ever headlining U.S. Tour, This time featuring new guitarist Tom Hatziemanouel (Graves) and temporarily enlisting drummer ]Josh Memolo of The Union Underground.

FROM THE DEPTHS

Upon returning home from the “All Lost Things” tour in 2004, the members of PMM were eager to use their downtime wisely. Long-time fans of artists such as Radiohead, U2, The Cure, and Oasis and inspired by the timeless quality of a great song, the band wanted to present a more stripped down interpretation of their material and highlight the melodic nature of their own songs sometimes overlooked by the high production values of the band’s recordings and performances. The concept was to record an “acoustic” EP. Further development led the band to record a “dual-sided” EP of 5 cover songs and 5 acoustic revisions of previous material, now titled “De Profundis”.

The closing of 2004 also brought to the band new drummer Chris Olivas (Berlin), a long time friend of Marisak’s.

THE FUTURE

Professional Murder Music continue to evolve and develop their unique sound, incorporating all of their eclectic influences with a sharp focus on what matters most – a great song.

Roman Marisak- vocals, guitar
Jeff Schartoff- bass
Tom Hatziemanouel- guitar
Chris Olivas- drums

Of Unknown Origin
Professional Murder Music Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Turn your head to look away
Cover your face like you feel some shame
Underneath it all I think you want this
Make believe that nothing's real

Only one chance to make this deal
Your silence only makes me think there's something
It's almost here

This feels so right

It's almost here
This feels so fucking right
I need her face
I need it all

To feel something more
I'll never leave
I do not know
What else is worth this

A perfect face is all I see right now
Alone and wasting too far to grab
Unknown and unlike anything
Else in the world

Just one look I cannot move
Infects my mind I need some more
Everything else I've ever seen is blurred now
You seem unreal and far away

I will not let it end this way
I can't imagine what else I could want now
It's almost here
This feels so right

It's almost here
This feels so fucking right
I need her face
I need it all

To feel something more
I'll never leave
I do not know
What else is worth this

A perfect face is all I see right now
Alone and wasting too far to grab

Unknown and unlike anything
Else in the world

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Professional Murder Music's song "Of Unknown Origin" suggest obsession and desire for something or someone that is elusive and unknown. The singer of the song seems to be addressing someone who is trying to look away from their true desires and emotions, and is instead attempting to cover them up with shame. The singer knows that the other person secretly wants what they are offering, and that their silence only confirms this.

The lyrics also suggest a certain frustration on the part of the singer, who feels that they need this elusive thing or person in order to feel something more in life. The repeated refrain of "I need her face, I need it all, to feel something more" suggests a deep yearning that cannot be satisfied through any other means. The perfect face, seen as "unknown and unlike anything else in the world," serves as a focal point for this intense desire.

Overall, "Of Unknown Origin" is a song about longing and the pursuit of the inaccessible. It speaks to a deep sense of dissatisfaction and an unquenchable thirst for something beyond the normal experiences of everyday life.

Line by Line Meaning

Turn your head to look away
You try to ignore what is really happening

Cover your face like you feel some shame
You know what's happening is not right

Underneath it all I think you want this
Deep down you have a desire for this

Make believe that nothing's real
You try to convince yourself that this is not happening

Only one chance to make this deal
This is your only opportunity to do this

Your silence only makes me think there's something
Your lack of response leads me to believe there is something going on

It's almost here
The moment we've been waiting for is coming soon

This feels so right
Despite the circumstances, this feels like the right thing to do

This feels so fucking right
This feels extremely right

I need her face
I need to see her face

I need it all
I need everything about her