They’ve got the masks, the mayhem and Sid Wilson and Ross Robinson in their corner. Are the enigmatic Swollen Teeth the new Slipknot?

WORDS: STEPHEN HILL

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Swollen Teeth: get excited, people

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Do you have any idea how lucky you are? There are people all queuing to get into the most exclusive club in the world, this boulder is just about to run down the hill, smash them all out of the way, and you’re standing behind it and can just wander in!”

Slipknot DJ and all-round loose cannon Sid Wilson is screaming excitably at Metal Hammer via Zoom, while his friend, former Slipknot producer Ross Robinson, looks on. According to Sid, we are privy to something big. He may well be right. The only problem is that we’re not 100% on what exactly that “something” is. The subject of his excitement is his recent discovery, Swollen Teeth. A mysterious quartet who deal in furious, jagged modern metal, they have seemingly appeared out of thin air. They go by the names Megaa (vocals/sampler/ turntable), Sun (vocals/bass), Skutch (drums), and HOG (guitar), and they wear full-face masks that make them look like decaying zombie thugs from some dystopian near-future. Their furious, Sid-produced debut single, SWOLLENTEETH, sent the hype needle off the scale. Their upcoming self-titled debut EP, released on a new label co-founded by Ross, looks to push it even further. And… well, that’s about all we know about them.

They may have two of the biggest names in metal in their corner, but Swollen Teeth are fully leaning into the enigma. They refuse to divulge their faces, their real identities, their back story, where they’re from or anything else that might give the game away. They’re certainly not doing interviews. “I don’t even know who they are,” claims Ross.