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SIDEWINDER
March Of The Eternal Heretic EP

Self-released (2025)
Rating: 6.5/10

It’s good to see this Leeds, England-based bunch of aggressors back with a new EP. If you’re unfamiliar with these guys then I suggest you start at the beginning with the 2020 demo Ashes Of Reality followed by the 2023 debut full-length album War Tapes Vol. 1.

Sidewinder are very much a rough n’ ready bunch that hit hard with a flurry of short, sharp punches before leaving the scene of the crime. This new EP only runs for 16 minutes but there are enough bruising assaults here to last a long time after. Strongly embedded in the realms of blackened hardcore, crust and thrash, Sidewinder is arguably one of the most confrontational bands on the UK scene and the four tirades on offer here are full of grit and muscularity.

Opener ‘Two Zero One’ feels like an attack by several unruly bouncers at a nightclub. Charging riffs, shouted rants and a barrage of drums and bass sends you reeling because it’s such an aggressive, in-your-face experience, a smash n’ grab action if you will.

The title track is another fierce combination of punches; quintessential contemporary hard core with that belligerent thrash butchery. Maybe not quite as old school as I’d want but why should Sidewinder care about my feelings when their only interest is to charge headlong into the brawl.

Okay, so at times March Of The Eternal Heretic is a tad one dimensional but then again it isn’t an EP that’s intention is to tickle your fancy. Even so, within its muscular framework you will find a destructive mix of thrash, death, punk, crust and crossover, the result being a hefty track such as ‘From Beneath They Shall Rise’ with its juggernaut riffs and relentless hammering. Closer ‘Ashes Of Eternity’ does provide some steadier grooves but you’re always wary of being hit by the bombardment of the vocals.

A few times through this belligerent display I was thankful the duration was so short. After all, not everyone likes to be beaten up for 16 minutes.

Neil Arnold

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