Harrogate band work with Iron Maiden legend

Still led by original lead singer Howard H Smith, who went to Harrogate High School as a youngster, the release of The Age of Entitlement sees the band collaborating with renowned album cover illustrator Mark Wilkinson, who has designed sleeves for Iron Maiden, Marillion and Judas Priest.

Howard said: “We are thrilled to have such legendary figure involved with our album.

"I was introduced to Mark by Al Barnes, formerly of Venom, last year in Bloodstock VIP and jokingly said if he ever fancied doing our cover art I’d let him.

"Fast forward months later and amazingly he agreed to do it!"

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Line-up changes and the stresses of world tours took their toll and Acid Reign split up in 1991.

But Howard resurrected the band in 2016 and quickly brought Acid Reign back into rock’s vanguard with an acclaimed appearance at Bloodstock Festival in front of an audience of 5,000 people.

Described as an "old school thrash album with a contemporary twist," the new album features ten tracks and will be available on streaming services, as a digital download, CD, LP and Limited edition Cyan coloured vinyl.

The Age of Entitlement sees a full-bloodied resurrection of Acid Reign to the delight of its own makers.

Howard said: “We started recording on August 1st last year with Jayce Lewis and he has been amazing.

"He was badgering me to do this for months. We had two other bigger names telling us they would love to do it but Jayce showed us when recording The Man Who Became Himself that he would go above and beyond to get the best out of what was a very difficult session at times.

"I think the results are stunning.

"I’ve had the title The Age of Entitlement for a long time. Straight off the bat it had an album title ring to it and speaks to a world view that the entire band shares, which is important.

"Then Mark came up with the artwork which he really knocked out of the park.

"We are all itching to get this out and now you know when you’ll be able to get hold of it, not long now. There's a new single coming soon, too.“

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