Kingcrimsonprog Moshkinstein is the debut EP/Mini-Album from British Thrash Metal band Acid Reign. It was released in 1988. If you want to pick up a copy nowadays, the band have helpfully reissued it, along with all their albums and almost every track they ever recorded on an anthology boxset.

The artwork and lyrics remind me of Anthrax with their nonsense Thrash can be fun too beliefs, but not into parody territory like Lawnmower Deth. The music however is competent, serious, well-meaning ‘80s Thrash, with quick drums, buzzy guitars, and ok solos. The songs mostly tend to run to the 5-6 minute mark and do mix up tempos. They have a strange mixture of a punk feel due to the poor production and a technical feel due to the choppy song structures. The vocals are reminiscent of D.R.I or the shorter novelty Nuclear Assault songs in their shouty almost Hardcore flavour (I’d recommend this band to fans of either of those artists).

Highlights include the pounding opener ‘Godess’ and the Norman Bates themed ‘Motherly Love.’

Compared to other British Thrash bands of the era, they aren’t as Venom-influenced as Onslaught, nor as Bay Area copyist as Xentrix. Acid Reign, while not being the most unique band in the world, do manage to carve out their own niche.

This isn’t a band you’ll just discover and love for any other reason, but if you are a massive Thrash fan, Acid Reign are a band worth investigating, and this mini-album is a good start.

Vim Fuego Acid Reign is one of those bands most thrash fans seem to have a bit of a soft spot for, and it’s not hard to see why. Five Yorkshire lads with no pretensions whatsoever, just playing the music they loved, and hit on a unique formula which brought them to the notice of the British metal media, and the wider metal world.

“Moshkinstein” was Acid Reign’s debut EP, a re-recording of much of their 1987 demo of the same name. As a debut, it showed this band was capable of producing some incredible music. First track “Goddess” is a serious thrasher. Immediately, it showed Acid Reign had an unusual sound. There always seemed like there was something slightly loose in there, rattling away in the bottom end of their music. The band’s big rhythm guitar sound was chunky, with an almost New York crossover thrash edge to it.

Second track “Suspended Sentence” showed the band understood melody and dynamics. The song chugs along quite comfortably, only occasionally bursting into full on thrash. The almost seven minute song perfectly showcases singer H’s incredible lyricism. Few other bands at the time wrote songs of such depth, intelligence, and introspection. H could be an amazing vocalist at times, but frustratingly, he also seemed a bit slap-dash and rough around the edges too. Sure, this was a band which was reasonably young, and were possibly trying to be spontaneous. Yes, there’s spontaneous, but there’s also having another go until you get it fuckin’ right! Never mind, the songs shine through.

Another highlight is “Motherly Love”. The song is genuinely creepy. The intro is a sample from the film Psycho II, with Norman Bates’ dead mother living on in her son’s diseased mind (“People say that I’m insane, Mother says I’m not”). Once again, H’s vocals wander around what seems like the correct notes, but this is a contemplative exploration of a schizophrenic persona, neither condemning nor glorifying.

“Respect The Dead” is a reminder that we’re all going to end up underground one day. What we do with our time before then is up to us, but do the dead automatically deserve respect? “Chaos (Lambs to the Slaughter)” examines terrorist bombings. Despite being written in the late 80s, it’s still sadly relevant today (“Sole existence is to waste/Waste life on command of others/Leaders lead by religion/Leaders blinded by power”).

This is quite a long release for an EP, clocking in at over 30 minutes, but it doesn’t seem to be overly long. Acid Reign’s two full length albums suffered from trying to pack in too much, and both lost focus. “Moshkinstein” stays focused, and does not outstay it’s welcome.