Illinois Entertainer July 2018 | Page 54

Continued from page 34 get those two guitarists in the band, we would up the ante. We hit them up and the next thing you know, Reign is Reign. Mosh: How did you make it onto the Vans Warped Tour last year? Jack: We saw a LiveNation competition on Facebook, and I put in a submission. The next thing you know, we were invited to play at the House of Blues. And it was a "who could bring the most people/woo the judges" type thing. All the other bands who were in the competition were pop-punk bands. So we worked our asses off and pro- moted it. We stood outside of Soldier Field when Metallica played and gave away fliers and tickets. We won the competition and got a spot on Warped Tour and opened up for Knocked Loose on the Full Sail University Stage. So that was pretty exciting. There’s even a video out there with the guys in Knocked Loose, and the singer is wearing a Reign T-shirt! Mosh: You have a decent local following, but do you get many chances to play outside of Illinois? Jack: We usually do a west-coast run every year, and in between that, we hit up Midwest towns on the weekends. This past year it’s been a little bit slower because I had two kids in one year. So, I was kind of pulling back a little bit, just sticking to more of the writing aspect. I can do that at home in preparation for when they’re a little bit older, and I can finally jump out again. Compared to Chicago, Los Angeles is our second home. We know the most people out there, and we’ve always gotten a big response. In Chicago, we have our set of people who love to come out and have a good time. It’s liter- ally a group effort when it comes to Chicago and the scene. All the bands really help each other out. It’s kind of like a club if you will. That’s the cool thing about Chicago, espe- cially in the metal scene, it’s a tight-knit com- munity. Mosh: What's your primary focus as a band right now? Jack: We’re focused on this album, and we’re listening to it every day, tweaking it and making sure the mix sounds good. We even- tually want to jump on some big tours and get on some big shows with some main national acts like Warbringer or Exmortus- type of bands. Every year we try to do some- thing bigger than we did last year. We hope to keep that trajectory going. MOSH-WORTHY RELEASES: De Profundis The Blinding Light of Faith (Transcending Obscurity Records), Marduk Viktoria (Century Media Records), Atrocity Okkult II (Massacre Records). MOSH-WORTHY LIVE: Night Demon, Blood Star, Shokker (Reggies, 08/16), Dimmu Borgir (Vic, 08/21), Abigail Williams, Ghost Bath, Wolvhammer (Reggies, 08/29). MENTION-WORTHY: Phoenix hard rockers CO-OP, featuring Dash Cooper, son of leg- endary shock rocker Alice Cooper, just released a self-titled album on June 15 which features guest appearances by Alice and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. Legendary rockers Motörhead have launched an official Röad Crew beer, an American IPA with a 6.2% ABV that is now available in Illinois. Continued from page 18 Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 2 Mama Mia: Here We Go Again! Directed by Ol Parker Rated: PG-13 • July 20 This sequel to the 2008 original film goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present. Lily James joins the cast as Young Donna, and Cher plays Donna’s estranged mother. Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Dominic Cooper all reprise their roles. Unfriended: Dark Web Directed by Stephen Susco Rated: R • July 20 Twenty-something Mattias (Colin Woodell) opens a new laptop he finds in a lost-and-found bin. While on an online video call with a friend, he discovers the disturbing nature of the files and learns that the previous owner of the laptop is aware and has been watching them. 54 illinoisentertainer.com july 2018 Mattias is thrust into the murky waters of the dark web as the mysterious owner will stop at nothing to get the laptop back in this found footage horror stand-alone sequel. Mission: Impossible – Fallout Directed by Christopher McQuarrie Rated: N/A• July 27 Tom Cruise is back in his signature role in the highest grossing film series of all time. Sixth in the series, Mission: Impossible – Fallout finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies, (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) are in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Hunt finds himself hunted by assassins and for- mer allies while trying to prevent a global catastrophe. Henry Cavill, Wes Bentley, Angela Bassett and Vanessa Kirby round out the cast.