“…this has blown my mind… absolutely phenomenal”
– James Santer (BBC Introducing)
“Fucking ace, nothing more, nothing less”, Noctis Mag
The years have shown the best bands are often the ones that remain unafraid of change. The
ones that embrace their own natural evolution, following their hearts first and foremost. Reigning
Days are in many ways a band reborn, and since their formation four years ago, their
accomplishments and travels have been what most British bands dream of – taking them as far
and wide as India, Russia and America. Having just inked up a deal with global booking agents
CAA after extensive support from Radio 1, Kerrang! and US giant KROQ, with an EP and an
album in tow, 2016 is very much shaping up to be their year.
Originally formed as These Reigning Days, the Devonshire trio have been compared to some of
the most exciting British rock bands in recent history, from local heroes Muse to chart-topping
newcomers Royal Blood. And while those comparisons are perfectly just in terms of the
breathtaking ambitiousness of their music, in truth Reigning Days are a band most reluctant to
be pigeonholed.
“We’re just three lads from Devon trying to make waves in a sometimes dull, turbulent scene,”
grins singer/guitarist Dan Steer. “We’re all over the shop with our influences, which works well
for us because we get unique sounds. It’s not as if we’re stuck in one genre like some indie kids!
It’s probably me bringing the electronic influences; I love a good synth pad. But we’ve moved
away from that… the new material is more riff-oriented and about getting the biggest sound
possible.”
The realisation dawned in a most peculiar setting indeed – least of all for three lads from the
South Western seaside. The band were minutes into their set some 4,000 miles away in the
Indian capital of New Delhi when, lo and behold, their synth tracks crashed and left them no
choice but to continue on without them. Most peculiar of all, it was by their own admission the
best thing that ever happened to them.
“We fell back in love with the freedom of just being three musicians in a room again,” offers
drummer Joe Sansome. “Not playing to click or worrying about things not working… since then,
we’ve taken a whole new approach to how we do things. We went back to basics. It has to feel
natural, it has to feel real. If I have to think too much, it puts me off. That’s goes for life in
general!”
Released last November, lead single Friendly Fire served as the first taste of the self-titled EP
coming this April, where the trio have redistilled their music to its very core. Inspired by the sonic
purity of bands like Nirvana and QOTSA, whose sense of sheer honesty made them stand tall
among countless peers, follow-up single Renegade could be the heaviest song Reigning Days
have ever written. And the rest of the EP, produced by Jamie Evans (Mexicolas) and mixed by
Ade Bushby (Foo Fighters/Muse), lives up to the arena-conquering promise of the anthems
released in its anticipation. Chemical is dark and introspective, with Dan baring his soul and
making his guitar sound like a malfunctioning robot struggling to comprehend its place in an
organic world, while bassist Jonny Finnis fills our ears with thick rhythms that never cease to
hypnotize. Another standout track is Crazy Horse, which came from a concept inspired by
negative influences in life which facilitate downward spirals without actually causing them…
“I was in a dark place,” admits Dan. “I was exploring the idea of being with someone who’s
completely poisonous for you and gets in your head. Not makes you do things, but rather opens
up a side of you that you don’t necessarily like. It’s probably like being hooked on crack… so
welcome to the Crazy Horse saloon. We’ve all been in relationships like that, losing your shit
over something so simple. So when I reference a ‘rock’ in the song, I’m talking about her as a
drug-like influence. And Friendly Fire was inspired by the ‘fame’ industry, how you can go from
being someone really loved one minute and then shat on the next. We’ve spent a lot of time in
LA, walked past people who once had massive dreams become washed up wannabes with just
a trolley to their name. It’s people in your own industry turning on you.”
It might sound like everything is lining up quite perfectly for Reigning Days, but you’d be amazed
how much being a band from an area with no real music scene and refusing to fit into any
specific genre entirely has forced them to work even harder to make themselves heard. The trio
don’t really have favours they can call in from an extensive support network of like-minded
creatives. They’re doing this on their own terms, which by proxy means they’re pretty much on
their own…
“Coming from Devonshire has its logistical problems,” admits Jonny. “If you’re in London, you
hear about other nights and you can get the tube and be anywhere in an hour. For us, it’s a five-
hour drive in the van, £200 in fuel and then back again after the show. You’ve got to weigh it
up… there’s more to think about. But even if there are just 50 people there, we’re happy. We
don’t really fit into a bracket, it’s not like we’re a hardcore band that will definitely get invited to
play ‘This Is Hardcore’ Festival, you know? That imposes as many problems as the benefits we
get out of it...”
“People get confused too,” adds Dan. “If they can’t instantly go, ‘That band’s in that scene!’
sometimes they’re not sure whether they can like it or not… which can be interesting at festivals
ha ha! We’re not pretending to be something else with great theatrical display, we’re just being
ourselves and going out on a limb! I don’t really like the term genre. You get judged on
preconceptions before you’ve been heard. That’s why we always look at each other when
people ask! To this day, we still wouldn’t know. If you wanted to be pedantic, you could probably
try and ‘subgenre’ every track on the EP. We know we’ve made life harder for ourselves, we
don’t want to tag on the tails of someone else’s band, that’s just not what we’re about…”
Sometimes in life the difficult choices are also the right ones. Refusing to be categorised may
very well be what has made the band’s 20,000 strong (and perpetually growing) army of fans fall
in love with their musical odyssey. Considering just how busy a year it’s shaping up to be, with
the album arriving just months after the EP and the prospect of high profile tours ever-looming,
all signs point to this reign being tremendously long and fruitful indeed. Amit Sharma, Kerrang!
