British thrash metal often gets overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Everyone knows the treasure chest of thrash that can be found in the USA, and Germany will always be mentioned for the three kings, Kreator, Destruction and Sodom, alone, much less the likes of Tankard, Assassin, and Holy Moses. But here on our grey island, we had such luminaries as Onslaught, Sabbat, and Xentrix. If there were a Big Four of British thrash however, Acid Reign would certainly be in there. In their youth, the band made waves and toured with such acclaimed American acts as Exodus, Death Angel, and Nuclear Assault. They were the British kings of speed and to this day, Acid Reign goes at a pace matched only by runaway trains. Seven years on from their "comeback" album, "The Age Of Entitlement," the band are ready to add to their catalogue, with their fourth album, "Daze Of The Week."

Almost immediately, the tempo is set for most of the journey. After a build up reminiscent of early Metallica, opening number "The Who Of You" bursts through the door like a hyperactive roommate eager to spoil a TV show that you don't even watch. It's a solid track, very much focused on velocity and some detractors may argue that that's all it is, but the aforementioned intro and some really sweet guitar breaks keeps the listener intrigued enough to wonder what else they're in store for. It's actually quite a similar affair on the title track, which continues to be absolutely furious, although it had a better structure this time around.

Fortunately for an album with so much emphasis on the speed, there are some really good songs that stand out. "Sorrowsworn," the second single from the record, is very catchy and it's the best use of the all out attack employed by so many songs on offer. It's followed by "Old Young Man," which feels like a scaled back interpretation of the Exodus classic, "Toxic Waltz" with its swirling intro riff and provides a much needed change of pace. "Daze Of The Week" also concludes perfectly with, "Centre Of Everything," which is by far the most interesting song on the album, utilising melody and even getting a bit mellow for a good chunk of the track. It does return to the thrash attack approach eventually, but even when it does, it feels less like machine gun fire and more like a well constructed example of thrash metal song writing.

As I'm sure you will have picked up on by now, "Daze Of The Week" is almost all about speed. It's a huge part of thrash metal of course, especially when it's a thrash band that gravitates to the hardcore punk side of the genre, such is the case here. The likes of The Descendants can be heard more than say Iron Maiden, or any other band from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal which helped to give thrash its sound. While it's fun, there are times on this album where the quickness can be a bit much and several songs appear to be racing at the same pace. It's impressive, but when too many songs feel like a blur, it detracts from their identities and in some cases, the previous song gets completely forgotten.

What's important, especially for British fans who take pride in the thrash scene, is that Acid Reign are not just still around, but they're active. There was a time when Acid Reign seemed to be dead and buried, but vocalist H resurrected the group, and to his eternal credit, restored them to being one of the country's premier thrash acts, even surpassing many of their contemporaries from the '80s to become the country's flag-bearers of the genre. "Daze Of The Week" is pretty good, and I hope to finally see them and hear some of these songs live, but I don't think it'll become the favourite of many longtime fans. If you want a full on thrash attack, you'll enjoy this.