Exclusive Interview: 21 Questions with… Jon Arnold from Promethean Reign!

After their successful resurrection at November’s incarnation of Rabidfest, Oxford natives Promethean Reign have new material set for release on 25th March in the form of two track single “Eat The Rich”. Recorded at Studio7, Green Room Studios, Oxfordshire and mixed by the band themselves it marks their first recording with new guitarist Kai Boyce who replaces Ryan Collins in the group who rose to prominence in 2017 with their debut EP “Aftó Eínai Pólemos“. So for s***s and giggles we asked fellow axe man Jon Arnold 21 random questions… Grab a beer and strap yourselves in for this one!

Q1. What’s your poison?

Gaming, I fucking love it, but I hate the feeling of “where did the weekend go” 

Q2. What’s your habit?

Smoking! It’s a bad habit, but a day wasted in a Dutch coffee shop is a good day. 

Q3. What does the day after a tour look like?

It looks like a 45-minute drive to work, or just chilling at home.

Q4. You released a demo called “Dionysus” in 2019, what are the chances of it being recorded in a studio and making its way onto a future release?

I wrote this song with our previous guitarist at my house, we felt it was a better representation of us musically than our ep, so we released the demo to the masses via Bandcamp. Now we have Kai [Boyce] joining us on guitar duties you can definitely expect Dionysus on a future studio release, Plans are already in motion.

Q5. Naming no names, if you read about drama at a venue from a band or two and the offer of a show comes up there, do you think twice?

Na, shit happens. We would have to experience the venue for ourselves to make a solid judgment, you never know until you try! 

Q6. Famously Bury Your Dead vocalist Mat Bruso took a guitar tuning peg to the skull during a live show that was being filmed for the band’s “Alive” DVD and finished the set bleeding profusely; Max Cavalera did the same when he headbutted a microphone and knocked a tooth out. What’s the worst injury you’d continue playing through because the masses need to hear your metal?

Aw man, so far we have been quite lucky, not much blood spilled just yet.  Personally, the worst would be breaking a tooth right before I was about to go on stage, That was not fun, the vibrations man. Absolute Fucking torture!

Q7. You hail from Oxford which has a decent set of venues and a wealth of decent bands to play locally; how has the local scene inspired you?

I think most of us have always had our ear to the ground and been inspired by the local metal scene in Oxford, we are all from previous local bands. It’s been great to see bands like Desert Storm work their way up and put heavy Oxford bands on the map. The Rabidfest team for putting on a metal festival locally is also hugely inspiring. With our local venue closing down during covid it’s now become much harder for us to showcase our live show in Oxford, but it won’t stop us.

Q8. You find Aladdin’s lamp and bag yourself three wishes. What are you wishing for?

Free practice, free recordings! I’d say the last one would be to continue the band and work our way up to bigger venues and bigger things all around, and enjoy the ride. 

Q9. One of your bandmates has a beer thrown at him during a show. Are you diving in and starting a ruckus or letting him sort himself out?

Ha, depends on which bandmate! In all seriousness, we would be kicking the assholes out of our show! We don’t do gigs to see violence, there is enough of that in the world already. 

Q10. What was the last record you listened to; what’s your go-to album and what is your guilty pleasure?

Akhlys – Melinoe has been in my cd deck since its release, I can’t get enough of it. 

Behemoth –  Demigod, is always a good go-to album for me, that opening sucked me in the first time I heard it. 

Not sure I should feel guilty, but nirvana would probably be my guilty pleasure, I’m a big fan of their rare demos and b-sides more so than their albums. 

Q11. When we reviewed your set at last year’s Rabidfest, we described it as having “plenty of violent chug” and “a solid and impenetrable wall of noise with little space to breathe” – what’s the most out there description of your music you’ve heard?

I remember once we got a review of a demo years ago when we started out, I think via ReverbNation. The track was Ashen dawn from our first ep, one review was just fucking hilarious. Spewing religious shite back at us, while saying almost everything about our music was horrible, the sound, the structure, everything! It was great. 

Q12. During that set, your return to the live arena for the first time in three years, you played a cut called “Pinnacle Of Humanity” that isn’t out in the World as yet which begs the question of just how much material do you have done but not recorded or released as yet?

Well, Pinnacle of humanity was actually one of the first tracks I’d written for Promethean Reign. So for us it’s an old song, in fact, our show at Rabifest was our last ever live performance of that song, we decided recently it doesn’t fit well with our other tracks. So, if you didn’t catch us live already you missed out on that one. Right now, we have at least several songs unreleased, and we are currently working on new music. We do have plans to put out something more substantial soon. 

Q13. You’re having a quiet drink with a couple of mates when you hear someone at a nearby table in the pub trashing your band for reasons that are frankly bullshit. Are you having a word or letting it go?

I think I’d have to go over and join in! Speak some ungodly bullshit and leave them to it. Each to their own. 

Q14. What’s your hangover remedy?

More beer, Always more beer! 

Q15.  How brave are you? One Chip challenge, Ice bath or throw your bullets in the fire and run like hell?

I’ll take the fire with a sprinkle of chaos option please, let fate decide. 

Q16. An ex-girlfriend threatens to talk nonsense about you on social media to ruin the band if you don’t give her a starring role in your next music video. Are you giving in to her demands or not standing for any nonsense?

Yeh, that’s not happening.

Q17. If you see a Gorilla riding a Rhino down the road in front of you, are you following to see what the fuss is about?

I’m probably gonna put the weed down about now. 

Q18. Pizza and beer is a sensational award winning combination so what are your favourites?

Cheese & toast! What else does a man need?

Q19. You get offered a cameo in a Stephen King movie and a song on the soundtrack but in order to get it you have to pay the devil his due. What are you prepared to give?

My Dad’s a huge Stephen King fan, so I’d have to go for this one. Swallow my soul, I don’t need it. 

Q20. What would mean more to you as a band this summer? A one off festival appearance at Tech-Fest or joining one of the headliners like Within Destruction for their “Road To Tech-Fest” 10 date tour?

It would be amazing to play a large festival like Tech-Fest but for us, I think the 10 shows would be our choice. Getting our name out there and more known, and more shows in more areas makes sense to me than a one-off show. 

Q21. Who are you thanking in your Grammy Award Winning speech?

My bandmates, some close friends, and people who have helped us such as the guys down at Greenroom studios, in Witney, have been hugely supportive.  Most of all I would thank everyone who has checked out our music and supported us so we may continue to do what we do as a band.

25th March will see new two track single “Eat The Rich” arrive from Promethean Reign. It’s available for pre-order over at bandcamp

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