One of the things that Thrash brought when it crashed the Metal party back in the mid eighties was the fun. Metal, at that point, was taking itself far too seriously. It had believed it's own hype about being a relevant art form and had lost its ability to laugh at itself. Thrash changed all that. It was infantile, self deprecating and lacked any airs and graces. Acid Reign were the UK resident class jokers. They viewed the whole thing as one big lark and my abundant memory of them at the time was that they all had permanent smirks on their faces, like they couldn't quite believe that they were being paid to muck about and play music.

As with many many others the 90's were less kind . The mood changed and nobody wanted Thrash's slogans, shouting and shorts anymore. Like nearly every other British Thrash band Acid Reign folded and the respective went back to day jobs. But we all know the drill. In 2015 vocalist (and stand up comedian) H tried and failed to get the original line back together (the responsibilities of real life sadly got in the way). Unperturbed he had came up with a cunning plan and "rebooted" the band with himself and four new members. The Acid Reign that will crash around the Ronnie James Dio stage and genuinely cause chaos may not be the same geezers as back then, but god do they share the same DNA. It will be fun, frantic, shambolic and utterly wonderful. Just like Thrash should be.

Playing: Friday, 7th August 2020

Stage: Ronnie James Dio Stage

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