Acid Reign: Round Two

Forever living in the impossibly tall shadows of their overseas brethren, UK thrash bands at the end of the 80s and into the early 90s managed to squeeze in very short creative and commercial peaks before the whole global scene came crashing down in favour of the next big things, namely death metal and grunge. And that seemed to be the end of it. But that all changed in the late 2000s. Suddenly, the stars seemed to align ready for a resurgence, and several of those big names from yesteryear began dusting off their guitars and drumkits again. One of those returning combos is ACID REIGN.

Originally formed in Harrogate, Yorkshire in 1985, they debuted with the Moshkinstein EP in 1988 with first full-length The Fear dropping the following year. But what really made them stand out was their sense of humour. The cartoony album covers and humorous intros had the unfortunate effect of dropping them into the ‘joke band’ category, when they were anything but considering the music and lyrical topics, instead favouring the tag “a thrash band with a sense of humour”.

Perhaps in an attempt to distance themselves from this unwarranted label, 1990’s Obnoxious ditched most of the light-hearted references and took a turn for the progressive, before the band split up one year later. Returning in 2019 with The Age Of Entitlement, the revamped band seems more serious than ever. With vocalist Howard ‘H’ Smith as sole remaining founding member, both the sound and lyrical focus of ACID REIGN have been dragged moshing and headbanging into the 21st century; a mere 29 years after their last recorded output.

After attempts to reunite the Obnoxious line-up failed, H recruited Pete Dee on bass, Mark Jackson on drums and Paul Chanter plus Cookey on guitars to continue the legacy. As to the modernisation of the band’s sound, H concurs. “Yes I agree with all those observations, although fans keep telling us that it somehow sounds like ACID REIGN but updated, which is a great compliment to the lads. Obviously the production doesn’t sound the same because it isn’t 1990 anymore, what would have been weird is if it did sound the same!” He continues, “we wanted a sound that paid tribute to the old days whilst updating it and people have gone nuts for Jayce’s production, he gets a mention in all the reviews and he’s been inundated with work since it came out so we/he must have done something right.”

It certainly seems to have worked. While older fans rejoiced at the triumphant return of a sorely missed band and a whole new generation of thrashers got their first taste of ACID REIGN, any humorous elements were confined to H’s ‘other job’, namely that of stand-up comedian, which he has actually been doing for the last 25 years. “Yes I have been [a stand-up comic] since 1994 and continue to be, I do way more comedy shows than music; the band is a mistress and comedy is the wife,” he jokes. “I do comedy gigs, I do gigs with ACID REIGN. The only similarity is that they take place on a stage.”

However, this is not strictly true. Anyone who has kept up to date with the band through these weird lockdown times would be quick to point out the very obvious exception to all this seriousness, namely the hilarious video for Blood Makes Noise, a punky SUZANNE VEGA cover version included on The Age of Entitlement and featuring highlights such as what must be the first ever recorded footage of bathtub drumming, plus the participation of the artist herself. Why choose this particular song to mess around with while most of the world was stuck indoors in April? “Bands release covers all the time, especially when the original artist is on it (cross-genre appeal). Simple really, it is short and it is not one of our songs, we wouldn’t do a stupid video for a serious song as it wouldn’t have worked. The idea for the video came first so the song choice was a no brainer.”

Which leads to the inevitable question: what was it with thrash bands and unlikely cover versions in the 80s and early 90s, and how come the Brits became better known for these covers than for their own music, unlike the Americans and Germans? “Good question!” H replies. “Because in the UK thrash never broke out of its scene, none of us shifted serious units, the only way any of us ever broke into the mainstream was with a mainstream song.”

But obviously not everything is fine and dandy. The global health crisis has had, and is having, a huge impact on every aspect of life. Did the band have many plans for this year that have been cancelled, and have they used this time to work on anything new? “Yes, an entire tour for our first album in 29 years and festivals just like all bands, and no. Pointless. We only released an album eight months ago and we need to tour that. We will not be one of the many bands who release post-lockdown albums.”

So while we all wait for things to get back to normal, or as close to normal as they will ever get again, we can still blast The Age of Entitlement and the killer back catalogue of one of UK thrash’s most beloved torchbearers. What do you think, H? “Cheers, thanks for the support and remember everything will be alright in the end and if it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”

The Age Of Entitlement is out now via Dissonance Productions.

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