New ACID REIGN Lineup To Release 'Plan Of The Damned' Single

Reactivated U.K. thrashers ACID REIGN have set a July 17 release date for "Plan Of The Damned", their first single in 25 years. Featuring the image "Delusion Dwellers" by acclaimed artist Laurie Lipton, the artwork can be seen below.

ACID REIGN will be announcing a classic back-catalogue tour in the near future, although "Plan Of The Damned" will definitely be included, that will keep the band busy until late 2016.

ACID REIGN vocalist Howard "H" Smith had this to say about "Plan Of The Damned" and the honour of having Laurie Lipton cover art: "I have been a fan of Laurie's for years and I thought I'd fire off an email to her manager to see if there was any way she would even consider letting us use one of her pieces. Half an hour and three emails later from Laurie herself and she had given us permission! To say that we are happy with this would be a huge understatement; it captures the spirit of the song perfectly and is a stunning piece of art, as all of her works are.

"I know it sounds corny, but, for me, this really is one of those, 'wow, this is actually happening' moments.

"We couldn't be happier with the way 'Plan Of The Damned' has turned out. We recorded it in Wales at Not In Pill Studios with the awesome team of Martyn 'Ginge' Ford and Matt Bond (SLIPKNOT, TRIVIUM, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, AXEWOUND). The studio is under a boxing gym and the smell of sweat, aggression and metal is in the walls! We had a blast, it was a great experience."

A band considered ahead of its time by many, ACID REIGN was one of the leading lights of the U.K. thrash attack and spent time on the road with the likes of EXODUS, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, DARK ANGEL, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, DEATH ANGEL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and CANDLEMASS. Signed to Music For Nations subsidiary Under One Flag, the band would release two albums (including the seminal "The Fear"),two EPs and "The Worst Of" compilation before calling time on the band in 1991, their final appearance being at the world-famous Marquee club in London.

ACID REIGN first started to show signs of life once again in 2011, when Lost & Found Records released remastered versions of their albums and EPs. The reaction to the reissues — which were remastered by legendary producer Bill Metoyer (SLAYER, D.R.I., FLOTSAM AND JETSAM) — was so good that the band started to receive a stream of requests about when ACID REIGN might take the stage again.

Despite the interest, though, all remained quiet on the ACID REIGN front until the Candlelight release of the extensive box set "The Apple Core Archives". The set was a three-CD-only collection of every song ACID REIGN had ever put out, with new sleeve notes, unseen pics, demos and housed in an Apple Core-themed box.

Since this release, Smith has been actively working on the all-new ACID REIGN reboot and looking forward to bringing the band back where they belong — on stage!

ACID REIGN 2015 is:

* Howard "H" Smith (vocals)
* Cooky (guitar)
* Marc Jackson (drums)
* Pete Dee (bass)
* Paul Chanter (guitar)

Photo credit: www.kayleighvictoriaphotography.com