Rebooted UK thrash veterans Acid Reign have revealed the title of their new single as ‘The Man Who Became Himself’. ZT caught up with frontman H to talk about it and the band’s resurgence.
Years and years ago, when we were talking for a retrospective piece on Acid Reign in ZT, you said that a reunion wasn’t likely to happen. So, how did this reboot come about?
“Like all interviews, they reflect what the situation is at the time, that was a good long while ago, wasn’t it? Long story short: in 2014, Kev [former Acid Reign guitarist] said to me, ‘Obnoxious is 25 years old in 2015, fancy doing some gigs?’ This came totally out of the blue as he’d always been dead against it. I said I’d see what the other guys thought, but in principle I’d be up for it. I was a little wary as I had / have my comedy career to consider, so off I went to speak to the lads. They all agreed, we managed a few rehearsals as a four piece – Kev was away on tour with Bullet For My Valentine – and then one by one they started to drop out for various, differing reasons. Finally I decided to do it anyway. I’d known Paul for years – he actually was close to replacing Adam, so 25 years later he got the job! I found the other guys, who are all fucking awesome, through various contact in the biz…and here we are.”
Has the positive reaction to your reboot taken you by surprise? People seem genuinely thrilled to have Acid Reign taking to the stage once again.
“The biggest surprise was the fact that no one has moaned, ‘It’s just H and some other guys’! Everyone has been nothing but enthusiastic and positive online, which is not like the internet at all, ha ha! The point of [previous single] ‘Plan Of The Damned’ was to address the anticipated backlash that never came. I wanted to have something out quickly that would prove this lineup was more than capable of holding its own and writing a new chapter in Acid Reign history. Which, I think, it did, as once again the feedback has been unanimously positive, even on YouTube which is renowned for its trolls.”
Talk to us about your new recording, ‘The Man Who Became Himself’! 
“We recorded it over three days in Northstone Studios in Wales with Jayce Lewis – look him up; fascinating guy. We weren’t supposed to use him, but our old producer let us down at the last minute. Jayce stepped up and did a fantastic job. It is more of a thrasher than ‘Plan Of The Damned’ and has a big, shouty Acid Reign chorus. As for what it’s about? I’ll that for people to make their own minds up. It will mean something different to everyone.”
You’ve mentioned that a new album is on the cards, but a way off yet. Any ideas when it might happen?
“No. Not a clue. We all have careers outside of Acid Reign and live in London, Newcastle, Bridgend and Exeter. It’s not easy and it’s not full time. We will get to it when we get to it. We have a load of music and lyrics, we just need to marry them all up. Sounds easy, right? It isn’t!”
Acid Reign embark on their April Fools Tour around the UK at the very end of March. Full dates and details are available here.
