THE NWOTHM: How did the band form and is there any interesting story surrounding its
formation?

W.S: The band was formed in 2009 in Bialystok, Poland. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about our
beginnings, a pretty typical story of four friends getting together to play some music. We started off
playing covers, and slowly introduced our original songs to the mix. In 2015 the band was put on
hold when I moved to the UK. And, finally, in 2022 Wicked Side was reformed (or should I say
resurrected) in Manchester.

THE NWOTHM: Since the band’s formation what big milestones have you achieved?

W.S: I think recording and releasing a debut album was definitely a huge thing. Also, between 2009 and
2015 we managed to play over 100 shows including a few in the Baltic States. We have taken part
in a few smaller festivals, as well as supported some well-known bands, like Blaze Bayley or Turbo
(Polish heavy metal legends). Since our third ever gig was actually opening for Turbo, we were
joking that at this rate our tenth show would be with Iron Maiden. That hasn’t happened, but our
tenth gig was at Crazy Friends Fest in Vilnius, Lithuania with well-known Lithuanian bands like
Piligrimas, Katedra, Soul Stealer or Thundertale, and Russian guitar virtuoso Sergey Marvin. So,
all in all, it wasn’t too bad 🙂

THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us any fun/ interesting facts about the members of the band?

W.S: The most interesting fact is that despite being based in the UK none of us is actually British. Apart
from that I guess we’re just a bunch of really boring almost middle-aged people with jobs and
families. However, in 2012 I took part in a TV quiz show, Jeden z dziesięciu, Polish equivalent of
Fifteen to One. I didn’t get to the final, though.

THE NWOTHM: What bands and artists have influenced you and helped you to carve your
sound?

W.S: For me personally the most influential bands were Metallica, and Iron Maiden. Thanks to the
former I got into heavy music, and thanks to the latter I picked up the bass. As far as the sound
goes, I listen to a lot of different music – from classical, through pop and disco, to rock and metal –
so there are many influences, conscious or otherwise. If I was to drop some names, apart from the
aforementioned two, I’d add Aria (Russian metal band), Judas Priest, Iced Earth, and more
recently Saratoga (Spanish band). Cristiano is really into 80s hard rock and heavy metal (Dokken,
Journey, Extreme), and Mihai likes progressive metal (Dream Theater, Liquid Tension
Experiment).

THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us about your most recent release(s) and any background
information to the music? How did the songs come about?

W.S: Most recently we have released a single called “Ride out the Storm”, which is widely available on
streaming services, and the video can be watched on our YouTube channel. We will be actually
uploading a video discussing the details of the song soon, so make sure to check out our social
media not to miss it!

THE NWOTHM: What shows have you got coming up for 2023? Any major performances
you would like to highlight?

W.S: This year is going to be busy with non-musical stuff, so we don’t have that much planned, not yet
at least. We’re taking part in Metal 2 the Masses in Manchester, with our heat taking place on the
12th of March. We have some gigs in the pipeline, including a brand new local festival, but I can’t
give any details at the moment.

THE NWOTHM: Any other plans for 2023? With it being a new year, what do you hope to
achieve in the upcoming months?

W.S: As I already said, there will be a lot of non-musical things happening in our lives, so that has to be
taken into consideration when making our plans. We will do our utmost to release a few new songs
this year, and play a handful of shows. Ideally, we’d love to establish ourselves on the local scene
and take it from there. Ultimately, we want to have a lot of fun playing music, we don’t see it as our
career.

THE NWOTHM: Where can people check you out on social media and buy your
music/merch?

W.S: We’ve got Facebook & Instagram profiles (@wickedsideband), and a YouTube channel
(@WickedSide), and that’s it as far as social media go. Should anyone want to buy our music in
digital format we’ve got a Bandcamp page (wickedside.bandcamp.com) where one can do so.

-Wicked Side January 2023

Interview Rob Beeton

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