RSS Feed


ACID REIGN
Daze Of The Week

Back On Black (2026)
Rating: 8/10

Upon reflection, my 9/10 grading for Acid Reign’s 2019 return album The Age Of Entitlement was one of the most ridiculous I’ve ever written! I overhyped the opus to say the least, and believe that a 7/10 would have been a more accurate rating. But hey, everyone makes mistakes.

Now, after a seven year gap, the UK thrashers are back, this time with a better, albeit typically thrash looking slice of cover art and a different line-up. Mind you, vocalist Howard Smith, better known as “H”, is the only original member anyway, but for Daze Of The Week there’s three newish members, all recruited over the last four years. Drummer Jonathan Grimley (ex-Shrapnel) and two guitarists in the form of Matt Smith and Darren Mcgillivray join bassist Pete Dee, who joined the ranks in 2015.

Musically, this a direct thrash outburst epitomised by the angry shouts from H. Obviously, Acid Reign is a far more mature beast now than on those 80s cult classics, but with such maturity brings a seriousness that the band never used to be known for. To an extent, the goofiness of so many UK thrash acts back in the day often worked against them, hence the fact that Acid Reign, among many others, never really garnered any attention outside of Europe. Yes, there are occasional streaks of humour here, but for the most part, as exhibited on ‘Fantastic Passion’, there’s a rampant hardcore exuberance as H snaps over a flurry of furious drums and hectic axe work.

After repeated spins of this album I came to the conclusion that not only is this album far better than The Age Of Entitlement, but it sounds like the sort of record Anthrax should’ve put out a few years ago. Dripping with energy and urgency, Daze Of The Week just has its finger on the pulse when it comes to delivering the goods. It’s not as if the lads are overly technical or unorthodox, but with such punchy production and strong song writing skills the album is a joy.

Boasting ten tracks and with a duration of just over 46 minutes, Daze Of The Week offers up a stack of gems which thrust themselves into the limelight with such vibrancy and whip. First off there’s ‘The Who Of You’, an ideal opener with its aggression and snarl where H literally blasts through his words with sonic force and spite as the drums rip with high velocity. It sets the tone for what’s to come, the lads seething through the excellent and slightly steadier ‘Daze Of The Weak’ and even lengthier songs like ‘Conniption King’ and ‘Blind Lies’. Both of the latter tracks run over six minutes, but neither feel flabby. Instead, the combo crafts catchy melodies, hooky choruses and seamless variations between pace and the mid-tempo as again I hear traces of Anthrax.

At their most aggressive, Acid Reign spits out the turbulent ‘No Truth’, an in your face delivery with sharp punchy riffs and H’s venomous retorts; “Tell me what you want from me, tell me what you really need from me,” he blasts with hardcore angst. The clan shift into a steadier rhythm for ‘Old Young Man’, but also aren’t afraid to speed up some traditional metal gallops too, case in point being ‘Sorrowsworn’, which in spite of being a raging thrasher still incorporates a straight up heavy metal sensibility but with pace.

In a sense, the comparisons with Anthrax do this album justice because the U.S. moshers never hesitated in mixing styles. That’s not to say that Acid Reign are experimentalists, far from it, but there’s some superb examples of their variety on ‘AIonely’ which successful fuses fizzing leads, skittish rhythms and more simplistic supercharged metal surges. ‘Centre Of Everything’ broods with its slow burn moodiness as the band showcases trickling subtlety before honing in on a truly melodious sound that resembles the more recent rumblings of Anthrax.

I remember visiting the legendary Shades Records store in London back in 1988 to purchase Acid Reign’s debut EP Moshkinstein. The record shop may be long gone, but who’d have thought that almost 40 years later I’d be talking about an Acid Reign release again, and that’s the biggest compliment I can give to H and the boys for what is another refreshingly potent opus and one that’s far better than the last.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share