Biography
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Years Active
1985 – present (39 years)
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Members
- Adam Lehan (1988 – 1991)
- Cookey (2015 – present)
- Garry Jennings (1985 – 1988)
- Howard "H" Smith (1985 – present)
- Iain MacDonald (1988 – 1991)
There are more than one artist with this name:
1) Acid Reign are a British thrash metal band, active from 1985 to 1991, and again since 2015. Acid Reign were formed by Mark Ramsey Wharton (drums and keyboards), Ian Gangwer (bass) Originally Peter Warriner, Howard "H" Smith (vocals), and future Cathedral member Gary "Gaz" Jennings (guitar). Second guitarist Kevin Papworth joined in 1987.
In 1987, the band released the Moshkinstein demo. On the strength of this recording, they were picked up by British thrash metal label Under One Flag (a subsidiary of Music for Nations) in 1988 who released the Moshkinstein EP. Following this release, Jennings was replaced by another future Cathedral member, Adam Lehan (formerly of Lord Crucifier), and the band gained support slots opening for such acts as Flotsam and Jetsam and Death Angel. Acid Reign struck up a friendship with label mates Nuclear Assault and Exodus, and toured the UK and Europe as support to the Survive and Fabulous Disaster tours.
The band released their debut album, The Fear, in 1989. In support of the album, Acid Reign toured with Nuclear Assault again in 1989 across Europe with Dark Angel and Candlemass, with bassist Ian "Mac" MacDonald replacing Gangwer. Their second album, Obnoxious, arrived in 1990 to generally poor reviews.
The band broke up in 1991 after parting ways with Music For Nations. They played their final show at the London Marquee Club.
Lyrically, the group tackled a multitude of issues, ranging from criticism of censorship in "Creative Restraint" and the anti-nuclear testing message of "Joke Chain" to the B-movie science fiction of Phantasm and downright silliness, as on the CD bonus track for their album Obnoxious, "This Is Serious".
On 5 May 2015, Acid Reign announced on their Facebook page that they have reunited. Frontman Howard "H" Smith, who is the only original member of Acid Reign involved in the reunion, commented, "Finally the rebooted line up is complete, it's taken nearly two years but I can honestly say it's been worth the wait. Typically we're doing things differently to everyone else as where they reformed (and believe me we tried) we are now rebooting. Everyone in the band has Acid Reign in their DNA, some of the guys knew the band back in the day and some didn't but everyone is on the same page and we can't wait to get out there and show the world how much it has been missing us."
On 17 July 2015, Acid Reign released their comeback single "Plan Of The Damned" at http://www.acidreign.co.uk/ to rave reviews. The band also announced UK shows in October 2015 alongside fellow reactivated thrashers Xentrix, as well as headlining the Sophie Lancaster stage at the 2016 Bloodstock festival.
2) Hailing from the dephs of the Los Angeles underground, Acid Reign is ranked amongst the elite. Proud veterans of the Project Blowed camp, MC's Gajah and Beond have been advancing their craft since their first cassette, Acid Trip…a journey to the…, dropped in 1997.
After a brief hiatus and successful solo ventures, Acid Reign is back and set to release their new LP, Diversity, on Uncommon Records. Diversity has the two showcasing their ability to spit over any rhythm/musical style/genre but remain grounded in their Hip Hop roots. Expect the patented choppy unorthrodox sound of the Reign riddled with substance, as they brush on the human condition with relative subject matter. Diversity will feature some of LA's finest word smiths and rhyme slayers like Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Myka Nine, Nga Fish and more backed by a wide range of solid production including EQ & Nasa, hold on to your wigs!!
3) Acid Reign is a new metal band based in Staffordshire, UK that has no connection with the other UK metal group.
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