Mat check out the new EP from the boys in Sidewinder, and catches up with drummer and artist Gaz….

 If there is one thing that puzzles me about thrash metal, it is that it exists in a state of paradox. The truth is that it is now in its fourth decade as a genre, many a fan and artist from those early days are now parents, maybe even grandparents, and some are even staring at retirement. Even those of the new wave are enjoying 20th or silver anniversaries.

Yet, new bands and young fans are cropping up all the time, all over the world. It’s immediate intensity, that has barely changed throughout, keeps the lifers and entices the young equally.

 A case in point is SIDEWINDER, a five piece from Leeds who, two years after releasing WAR TAPES VOL. 1 full length, have unleashed more of their dark and gutsy brand of thrash with their latest EP, MARCH OF THE ETERNAL HERETIC.

The EP opens with TWO ZERO ONE, also the lead single from the release. The intro sets the mood with a stink face inducing main riff  before kicking up a gear,  the simplistic yet pummelling urgency leaves you in no doubt that you won’t come out the other side unharmed. The guitars and, indeed, the whole sound is like gritted tar. It seeps into your ears and sticks there for ages after.

MARCH OF THE ETERNAL HERETIC is where SIDEWINDER really goes for the jugular with a full speed homage to Warhammer 40,000. In particular the Primarch, Horus and his chaos legions. As a response to the previous song, this is a full on thrash riff machine, with sick leads and hard, precise drum work.

Next comes FROM BENEATH THEY SHALL RISE. To put it simply, the song is a filthy, nasty piece of crossover with a large helping of death.

ASHES OF REALITY finishes things off and they’ve held back the the heavy ordnance for this final assault. Vocalist DAMO has certainly got the pipes to match the maelstrom already being unleashed, and it is on ASHES OF REALITY where they are really put to the test… and passes. The song shifts at the break into a haunting, quasi-acoustic piece and DAMO’S voice takes on an unhinged, damaged vibe that seals the mood.

Overall, MARCH OF THE ETERNAL HERETIC demonstrates that you can still find fresh and new ideas, even when drawing from older sources. From beneath they shall rise is the strongest of a muscular and bruising collection. It shows off the band as a whole, with each member sounding the most comfortable and confident. It is SIDEWINDER’s manifesto and their anthem. It’s their Angel Of Death, their Master Of Puppets, their Into The Pit.

GINNER & JONESY’s guitar pairing is hefty and dark, they set the scenes with both broad strokes and fine details with deft hands. All well and good, but without the solid foundation laid down by GAZ’s drums and the bass work of FINCH, these tomes of terror would be for nought. MARCH OF THE ETERNAL HERETIC has the tactical might of Bolt Thrower, combined with the ballistic weight of bands like Protector, Possessed and Dark angel.

They have started something essential to the thrash metal world that we can only hold on tight and hope it has no brakes.

I reached out to SIDEWINDER  drummer GAZ was happy to chat about the details of the EP, the Leeds Scene, games and thrash in general…

The Leeds metal scene, looking from the outside, seems a bit thin.

Along with yourselves, Pest Control and Theocracide, how is the underground scene doing over there?

The Leeds scene is great. You’ve named a few there, but Leeds and the immediate towns and cities always produce good bands. Blasphemer, Ego (hc), Slime Lord, Cryptic Shift and Agonizer to name but a few, and all very different but very active bands pushing within their own genres.

Venues like [BOOM] keep bringing big bands through town and long may that continue. There is never a lack of local bands wanting to support bigger acts, and [BOOM]’s record of ticket sales speaks for itself.

Even with the cost of living being at its current peak, the scene in Leeds is thriving.

The EP’s title (and song) is a homage to Warhammer 40K, Who’s the big SciFi fan in SIDEWINDER? You could base a career on the Horus Heresy alone.

Haha. This is currently where Damien is taking us lyrically. He is really enjoying warhammer at the moment and has taken the plunge into model collecting. Matthew had been deep into the ‘hammer over the last 10 years and probably can’t believe he now has a close friend egging him on to blow dust off his army.

You have the single, TWO ZERO ONE, about the film Starship Troopers coming out before the EP.  It seems blasting aliens is quite the trend on this release.

Haha yes it is. I guess within the genres of thrash metal and hardcore, the topics of war, death, day to day struggles, and songs about mosh pits are quite well saturated. As Damien came up with this thought train for sci-fi, and the rest of us were more than happy for him to do his thing. He can write what he wants for us… it’s the conviction he delivers with it that we notice!

SIDEWINDERS’s style is dark and gnarly. It reminds me of Sadus or Power Trip. Having James Atkinson (Carcass, Angelwitch) engineer the EP must have been a result for keeping that sound, mustn’t it?

Definitely. James is an experienced musician, has a great ear, and a terrific chap. He asked us what type of sound we were after, and although we did have some suggestions of records where we appreciated the production values, the underlying agreement was just do what you think sounds best. 

Matthew Finch did great work on recording us before. Studying and learning as we went along. James Atkinson just raised the sound to another level for us. Thanks James.

 Do you have any gigs lined up after MARCH OF THE ETERNAL HERETIC is released?  Are you taking part in Metal 2 The Masses this year?

Yes we have some gigs. I could list them but perhaps I’ll just say check on our social media (in case any get changed, venue swapped etc) And no, not this time, we had great fun when we entered M2M, and the covid epidemic spread our M2tM out across 2 years! Best of luck to the bands competing.

What’s doing the rounds on your speakers at the moment? Any hot tips?

Apart from the classics, I guess we spend a lot of time finding stuff that has similar energies to our favourites.  So some UK bands to go listen to (first to my head), Overpower, Aggrieved, Grove Street, Inhuman Nature, Foetal Juice, BrainBath, Asidara, Ante-Inferno…

(I can’t argue about Grove Street. They were great when I saw them play Camden last year.)

Last question, and the most important.  What’s your favourite biscuit?

 Limp, first 3 records.

 I wonder if they’re similar to Garibaldi biscuits…

Sidewinder – March Of The Eternal Heretic is out NOW in all the normal places