Live review of Acid Reign, The Ferret in Preston 29th March 2024 reviews by John Caffrey.

 

First up local band Wrath of Man. They set their stall out straight away with the opener “Necros”. A riff laden epic, the lead singer Michael Skeech, prowls the stage mixing classic death metal vocals and clean classic rock style vocals which gives their riff laden songs a interesting edge to all their tunes.

Their set continues in this vein throughout. The set consists of old songs and a few new ones which sit nicely in the set, which has a constant heavy groove running through it. “Blood Lust” and “Human Vivisection” are standout tracks for me, a solid start to the evening.

 

Next up local thrash band Solitary. They are a lot more on the speed end of the scale of thrash metal. Fast riffs, clean vocals and plenty of shredding guitar solos. They run through a blistering set full old and newer songs, all of which get stuck in your head and leave you grinning like a loon.

Vocalist Richard Sherrington is a great front man engaging with the audience, and delivering classic clean thrash vocals. Their earlier songs have a definite crossover feel with their newer songs having a more late 90s feel. There are obvious comparisons to many a band, but I feel they have taken the best bits and made a unique sound of their own. They have a great groove and are fast furious, but good fun. 

Stand out tracks for me were, “Keep Your Enemies Closer”, “Trigger Point Atrocity” and “I Will not Tolerate”, but the whole set powers along at pace with one potential thrash classic after another. It is a mystery why this band aren’t massive after their 30 years of playing.

Next Thrash heroes Acid Reign. As the intro reaches an end they blast straight in to “Reflections of Truth”.

 Lead singer H is straight off the stage standing on a table singing amongst the audience, this is repeated throughout the set moving to the stairs, bar and on someone’s shoulders amongst the pit.

The band are as tight as ever and everyone looks like they are really enjoying playing . All the classic songs are here along with a few new ones thrown in for good measure.

Stand out tracks for me are “Goddess” and “Blind Aggression”. A couple of covers Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Blood Makes Noise” by Suzanne Vega get the crowd bouncing.

Acid Reign are a seasoned band and really know how to entertain Matt Smith and Cooky really know how to play their guitars and throw all the shapes, as does the Pete Dee on the bass. As the band raise the roof with a blistering “Motherly Love” I look round to see a room full of smiling faces and people cheering at the top of their voices. They still know how to entertain after all these years and long may they reign.