“BANDS like Evil Blizzard, they give me hope that music is alive and kicking,” said The Fall’s leader Mark E Smith earlier this year.

Four brutal bass players, a singing drummer and a dancing sacrificial pig - welcome to the surreal and slightly worrying world of noise merchants Evil Blizzard.

An assault on the ears and the eyes, their mighty onslaught of bludgeoning riffs and juddering funk has had everybody from the Arts correspondent of The Guardian to American TV lining up to interview Preston’s masked men of mayhem.

“We got called Lancashire’s Slipknot, but we draw from so many influences, Hawkwind, Killing Joke and Public Image Limited, so we have that DIY punk ethos,” said drummer and founder member of Evil Blizzard, Mark Whiteside.

“I think there are elements of psychedelia in it, and I guess we also have a crossover into doom, in a way.

“Every time we play, something strange seems to happen and there’s always chaotic moments at our shows.

“We just create this heavy, heavy vibe – a fusion of dance, metal and hypnotic bass, that people seem to latch on to.

“Folk who enjoy the band seem to like a lot of dance music as well – I think it has that same hypnotic groove coursing through it.”

Film producer Dominic Brunt, who plays the vet Paddy Kirk in soap Emmerdale and who was educated at Accrington Moorhead Sports College, is an avid Evil Blizzard fan.

“Dominic’s been to quite a few of our shows – he likes us a lot. Janice Long, the radio DJ, has also played some of our stuff.”

When Mark E Smith spotted Evil Blizzard at an early gig, he promptly took them on tour supporting The Fall, and the band have spent the past year gathering phenomenal reviews for their live shows, which feature a multitude of masks, spontaneous stage invasions and audience participation.

“With me being a singing drummer, it’s good to have those four at the front,” added Mark.

“We don’t have a front man to look at, but our show is obviously quite visual because of that.

“The pig is our sinister Bez.

“We’re also not a typical verse-chorus band – there’s a couple of songs on the album, Slimy Creatures and Clones that are sort of like that – but generally the vocals are more like a sound that comes out with the music.”

Their debut album – The Dangers of Evil Blizzard - was recorded in one take at Sunshine Studios in Manchester and released on John Robb’s Louder Than War record label.

It captures Blizzard’s often frantic blend of styles and Mark added: “We recorded it in five hours, and it is raw, edgy and wholesome.”

Evil Blizzard, Preston Blitz Club. December 13. Their new single ‘I Hope that you get nothing for Xmas’ out now.