The Age of Entitlement

Don't you just love it how sometimes an album can prove you wrong?
'Guess what, it was great all the time you just didn't get it yet'.
Well, that goes 'The Age of Entitlement''. How wrong I was, discarding it back in 2019!

Why then did I not enjoy it back in 2019? If I recall correctly it was mostly because 2019 Acid Reign did not sound like 1989 Acid Reign. Yeah, go figure. Eighties Acid Reign was more openly quirky. It had a 'fun' edge which made some people call them the UK Anthrax. There's hardly any of that, at first listen that is. It's there, it's just more hidden and subtle.
(I even wish 2019 Anthrax would've been as cool as Acid Reign in 2019 but unfortunately Anthrax have become a solid but rather tame dadmetal band.)

2019 Acid Reign is darker, more angry yet somehow more melodic. There's a lot of 'angry thrash' going on here (just try 'Sense of Independence' for instance). A song like 'Ripped Apart' even sounds as if co-written with Overkill. It has that vibe. Some riffs on '#newagenarcissist' and 'My Peace of Hell' actually remind me of Exodus.

But the album is perfectly balanced out with lighter moments or even melodic moments that have a strong nineties vibe. The 'Hate you, can’t face you, can’t live without you' pre-chorus on 'The New Low'is a great example. It is a midpaced thrash song but with such a melodic pre-chorus without taking anything away from the energy this song has. Remarklable achievement. And they pull that off plenty of times on this album.

At first this new approach on some songs made me frown but as the years passed and I got to know these songs, they practically became family. And whereas I get tired with plenty of music eventually, this albums just keep growing on me.

There's even a 'punk' song on the album. Funny thing, it is a Suzanne Vega cover. A song by a 20th century urban folk artist who make a surprisingly electronic album (99.9F°) back in 1992. And in the hands of a thrash metal band it turns out punk. How could I not love this! Yet somehow it fits perfectly on the album.

The chorus to 'United Hates' alone is worth getting this album for. Melodic yet so damn strong. especially because it's on a furious fast paced thrasher. Making the song so damn memorable. What about the vibe 'Hardship' has? A lot of retro thrash metal bands can learn from this. Those vocal melodies. They just drag you in. So powerful. I must admit the middle section with guitar solo sounds productionally like Metallicas's And Justice album but perhaps that was intentional. No complaints here. It sounds perfect!

What Acid Reign have achieved here is mixing several influences and eras and made it sound like the most normal thing in the world. Not many bands in metal can pull that off so easily.