Rock band Enter Shikari have just released their fourth album, The Mindsweep. Matt Westcott spoke to guitarist Rory Clewlow. The band play Middlesbrough Town Hall on February 22. Ticket details from entershikari.com

THE album has been out for a month, how happy are you with the reaction to it?

Yes we couldn’t be happier! Everyone has been really enthusiastic. My favourite response was surprisingly from The Sun, but the quote was genius they said The Mindsweep was “a precision punch to the relaxed gut of the metalcore scene”.

Are there any topics you wouldn’t consider as material for a song?

No. I think any topic or opinion should be available for anyone to express in the public forum. Freedom of speech is the father to all other freedoms, if you can’t begin the public discussion and analysis of a status quo, then nothing can ever change. Public discussion is the first step toward change. For example, if people weren’t allowed to question the morality of slavery, then how would it ever have been abolished?

After four albums, do you think you are maturing as a band?

Well I would hope we have improved as musicians and matured as people and that that refracts into our music. But I think what’s had the biggest impact on us is that we have got a lot more confidence in ourselves, and being a band for more than a decade has given us a fair amount of experience too. That has allowed us to become more fearless in our music, lyrics, and generally the way we run our band.

I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such a solid group of people I can rely on completely. I’ve seen so many bands around us constantly changing members and getting involved with the wrong kinds of people and just not being able to hold things together and it’s such a shame. I think the most important lesson we have learned is the importance of loyalty, to have faith in ourselves and to trust our gut feelings.

Touring is going to take up much of your time over the next few months, how good are you at living in each others’ pockets?

Rory: The other three guys in the band, and all of our crew members we tour with - and have been touring with for the past eight years - are all some of my best friends. Any kind of falling out or arguments are extremely rare and never last long. I genuinely feel there is a bond similar to brotherhood between us all and that is one of the biggest contributing aspects to what makes being in this band so great for me.

  • The band play Middlesbrough Town Hall on February 22. Ticket details from entershikari.com