Interview

Reign Eternal Talks "Premonitions" EP And "The Amendment" Music Video

A fairly new face on the U.K. metalcore scene, Reign Eternal is already making waves with the "Premonitions" EP, and we recently premiered a brand new music video for "The Amendment" taken off that release.

For more info on this rising band, check out our full interview below, in which the group discusses working with producer Ash Scott, shooting the new video, and how dedicated the fans and bands are in the Exeter music scene.

xFiruath: Let's start with the music video we're premiering for “The Amendment” – where did you shoot that and how long did the process take?

The music video for “The Amendment” was shot on Exmouth Beach, near our hometown in Exeter Devon UK. It took us a whole day to get it shot, with a lot of takes and different angles which we tried out. The fire we used was definitely the most difficult aspect to get right, but it came out just the way we wanted it to and we’re so proud of this video. Ben did an amazing job.

xFiruath: What's going on as far as the story of the video and lyrical themes of the track?

In the video we decided to dress in white whilst Ellis our vocalist dressed in black, this was a symbol of being outcast and also a symbol of isolation. We decided to do this because of the lyrical theme behind “The Amendment,” which discusses bullying and hate between two friends.

xFiruath: Your latest EP “Premonitions” is out now, so what's next for the band, and is there a full-length somewhere on the horizon?

The Reign Eternal full length is something which we talk about on a daily basis. We’ve already commenced the writing process and plan to finish writing the album after our UK tour and get straight in the studio with Ash again. We can’t wait to get started, what we’ve got so far is already a huge step up from the EP.

xFiruath: On the EP, when where these tracks written and where did you handle the recording process?

“Premonitions” was written late 2014 into early 2015, we spent nearly every day writing and practising the ideas as a band. We approached Ash around April of 2015 about recording and went from there. The first single “Bloodwater” was recorded and finished within two weeks and we couldn’t have been more proud of the outcome, at this point we knew that the EP was going to come out even better than we could have imagined.

xFiruath: How have the reviews been so far and have you read any comments about it you thought were really insightful or perhaps really off-base?

The reviews have been nothing but positive for us. The main comment being that we’ve covered a lot of ground with “Premonitions” in the sense that there is a lot of experimentation with our sound. I would definitely agree with this, although some people might take that as a negative I would say that was exactly what we sought out to achieve with this EP. We wanted to stretch ourselves and really show our fans what we could achieve with our first EP. I would say now that we’ve accomplished this we know what our definitive sound will be and we can now mould the band completely allowing Reign Eternal to really come into it’s own when we release our full length in the near future.

xFiruath: Who handled the EP's artwork and how does it connect to the album?

The guys over at Make North handled the EP art. It was an idea which Sam Sazio our guitarist came up with alongside some of the other guys in RE. The concept was basically a playing card, of death holding an hourglass with a king mirrored above it. Death was used to symbolise the lyrical themes of the EP and also relating to the name of “Premonitions” as it is mostly based upon a hateful relationship and the realisation that it is going to come to an end. The king has two meanings, one being the band with the concept of “Reign Eternal” as although the king is dead he still wears his crown. The other meaning is to symbolise the strength within yourself to move forward after what is the lowest moment of your life.

xFiruath: What different formats was “Premonitions” released on, and are you guys seeking out label support right now or doing this essentially on your own?

“Premonitions” is available on all digital stores, streaming platforms and also available in physical form on our online store. We are seeking label support to move forward with the full length in the near future, but as of now “Premonitions” is our own release as we want to make an impact ourselves with our first EP.

xFiruath: What's coming out soon in the metal scene you are really looking forward to hearing?

Personally, I can’t wait for Killswitch Engage’s new album! So excited for that. Otherwise locally we’ve just heard a new band called From Rust who we’re killer at our show with Despite My Deepest Fear, but also our friends in The Dreamer Within are working on new material with our good friend Matt Stuart who featured on Fighting Blind, so watch out for that!

xFiruath: What's the best show you guys have played lately, and do you have new shows coming up to support the release?

We just played an awesome show with Despite My Deepest Fear and Exist Immortal. However, for me the best show we’ve played all year was definitely our EP release show in our hometown of Exeter. All our fans and friends came out to see us, it was just a crazy show. We had a great lineup of support acts too, including Death By Ki and Rosetta’s Ruin.

xFiruath: On a similar note, what's happening in your local scene and do you have any venues that are great for metal and hard rock music?

Exeter’s local scene is the best, as I’ve said many times. Everyone involved in the Exeter scene and around that area are so dedicated. The guys come out to every show, venues like Cavern are huge supporters of metal music and all underground bands. If it wasn’t for that place I don’t know where we would be today.