Iconic '80s Thrash Metal Band Announces First Album in Seven Years

Acid Reign is back with a new album after nearly seven years. Announced on January 30 via Instagram, the new record, Daze Of The Week, is slated for release on May 15. Accompanying the new album will be 2026 tour.

The trash band’s last studio album, Age of Entitlement, was released in September 2019 following a 24-year hiatus from the music scene. The album followed their two other full-length records, The Fear in 1989 and Obnoxious in 1990.

Acid Reign’s fourth studio album was confirmed via Instagram on January 6. In the post’s caption, the band reveals that a new album is firmly underway. Produced at Northstone Studios, Jayce Lewis, a Welsh audio engineer, helped frontman Howard “H” Smith track the album’s guitar and rhythm sections. Smith recorded the vocals remotely.

Formed in 1985 by vocalist Smith, drummer and keyboardist Mark Ramsey Wharton, bassist Ian Gangwer and guitarist Gary “Gaz” Jennings, the band was known for their high energy performances and socially conscious lyricism. Although the group was only active from 1985 to 1991, they left a significant impact on the thrash scene.

The band is recognized as one of the U.K.’s “Big Four” trash bands alongside other major acts such as Onslaught, Sabbat and Xentrix. In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, the band helped define the genre in England.

After a 24-year hiatus, frontman Smith rebooted the band in 2015, forming a new lineup consisting of guitarists Paul Chanter and Kevin Papworth, bassist Pete Dee and drummer Marc Jackson.

Related: Iconic ’80s Thrash Metal Band Announces First U.S. Tour in 10 Years