Enter Shikari recently visited the Loudwire studios, giving us a chance to engage them in a Gear Factor chat reflecting on the riffs that inspired them.

Singer-guitarist Rou Reynolds and lead guitarist Rory Clewlow reflect on their beginnings, revealing a similar start to their musical exploration. "I think if every electric guitarist is honest, it's either 'Smoke on the Water' or 'Wild Thing,'" laughs Reynolds, with Clewlow jamming a bit of the Deep Purple classic, while Reynolds needed a little refresher from his bandmate before rocking some of the Troggs favorite.

Other acts who had an influence on them early on included, Foo Fighters and Radiohead, with the latter giving them the greatest gift of all. "Radiohead is the one who probably influenced us to be fearless," says Reynolds, who serves up a bit of "I Might Be Wrong" from the band.

As for their own music, Clewlow takes it back to their first album and the song that really kicked things off for them, "Sorry, You're Not a Winner," while Reynolds digs even further into their history with a pre-Enter Shikari lick from Hybryd on a song called "Honesty Box."

I remember writing that riff and thinking, 'Damn, that's a riff,'" says Reynolds with a giddy smile.

While there are plenty of influences to go around, Reynolds says they learned early on that they needed something to distinguish themselves from the other bands in their scene. "I think it was just that our local scene was really competitive and you really had to carve out a name for yourself, kind of something that would be immediately recognizable as you. That was cool, because at the time we were coming up, there were just a lot of bands that sounded like their favorite bands," says the singer. "We were always confused by bands that just had one sound and stuck to it." In their own exploration, they eventually found that something that connected and separated them from the clutter.

Enter Shikari last released The Spark album in 2017, but are reportedly working toward their sixth studio album. Last August, they issued the new single "Stop the Clocks" satiating fans while they continued to work toward their next offering. Check out more significant riffs from Enter Shikari in the Gear Factor episode above.

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