The Acacia Strain

The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain live in Saarbrücken in 2010
Background information
Origin Chicopee, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres Deathcore, metalcore
Years active 2001 (2001)–present
Labels
Associated acts Blood Has Been Shed
Members
  • Vincent Bennett
  • Kevin Boutot
  • Devin Shidaker
  • Griffin Landa
  • Tom "The Hammer" Smith Jr.
Past members
  • Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz
  • Christopher Daniele
  • Daniel Daponde
  • Karrie Whitfield
  • Jeanne Sagan
  • Seth Coleman
  • Ben Abert
  • Jack Strong
  • Richard Gomez

The Acacia Strain is an American metal band from Chicopee, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The band has gone through several lineup changes and vocalist Vincent Bennett is the only current original member. The Acacia Strain is currently signed to Rise Records.[1]

History

Founded in 2001, The Acacia Strain was created by members of various Chicopee, Massachusetts, and northern Connecticut area bands most notably Blood Has Been Shed, Septic Orgasm, Daedalus/Complex, and Prosper. Since 2001, the band has undergone numerous member changes in which vocalist Vincent Bennett is the only remaining original member.[2] To date they have released eight studio albums, as well as two split albums: one with Loyal to the Grave (on which they covered the Slayer song "Seasons in the Abyss"[1][2]) and another with This or the Apocalypse, War from a Harlots Mouth, Fact, and Aggressive Dogs. The band has worked with acclaimed producers Adam Dutkiewicz[3] and Chris "Zeuss" Harris.[4]

In December 2009, The Acacia Strain toured as direct support for Hatebreed as part of the Stillborn Fest alongside Crowbar, The Casualties, and Thy Will Be Done.

The band released their DVD, The Most Known Unknown, on February 16, 2010.[5] The band reached the Billboard Top 200 albums chart in 2008 with Continent and 2010 with Wormwood.[6]

They performed at Warped Tour 2011 on the Advent Clothing stage along with We Came As Romans, Set Your Goals, Winds of Plague, Miss May I, and others.

In April 17, 2012, it was announced that The Acacia Strain had signed to Rise Records, announcing plans for a new album in October 2012.

On April 25, 2012, a new song, titled "Servant in the Place of Truth", was released digitally, and at the time was also in anticipation of their upcoming album, which will be released in the fall.

On July 18, 2012, The Acacia Strain announced the title of their new upcoming album, Death Is the Only Mortal. It was released on October 9, 2012.[7]

On August 10, 2012, The band announced the track listing for Death Is the Only Mortal and released the album art via their Facebook page.[8] However, the single "Servant in the Place of Truth" is not listed on the album. Guitarist Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz later confirmed that it was just a non-album single.

On September 6, 2012, an official single off "Death Is the Only Mortal" was released titled "Victims of the Cave" as a lyric video on Rise Records' YouTube channel.[9]

In November 2012 The band performed on the UK Van's Warped Tour as well as supporting Architects on the U.K leg of the "Daybreaker 'Almost' World Tour".

On November 27, 2012, The Acacia Strain was involved in a rollover accident, which prevented them from touring with Veil of Maya thereafter.[10]

On May 18, 2013, Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz announced via his Facebook page that The Acacia Strain had moved on without him and that he was no longer a part of the band.[11]

On June 4, 2013, the band announced that they had introduced two new full-time guitarists to join their line-up, Devin Shidaker (formerly of Oceano) and Richard Gomez (formerly of Molotov Solution).[12]

On August 12, 2014, the band revealed the title of their seventh album to be Coma Witch, which was released on October 14, 2014. The band also released the music video for the first single of the album, "Cauterizer".[13]

On May 23, 2015, The Acacia Strain announced on their Facebook page that they will appear on The Summer Slaughter Tour 2015, and that their bassist Jack Strong is stepping down and will be replaced by their friend Griffin Landa.[14]

On March 27, 2017, the band revealed the title of their eighth album to be Gravebloom which was released on June 30.[15]

Musical style and themes

The Acacia Strain has been described as sludge metal,[16] deathcore[17][18] and metalcore.[19] AllMusic characterizes the band's musical style as "utiliz[ing] a bone-crushing rhythm section, apocalyptic samples, and a unique triple-guitar assault to deliver their signature blend of hardcore punk, noise, death metal and doom metal."[16] The site's review of Wormwood elaborates on the band's sound as "an inelegant and unstoppable juggernaut fueled by memories of the unchecked aggression unleashed on the world by the likes of Sepultura and Pantera."[20]

The band's former bassist, Jack Strong, describes their music as "hardcore-influenced metal",[21] while lead vocalist Vincent Bennett has rejected the deathcore label, going on record to say that "deathcore is the new nu-metal. [...] It sucks. And if anyone calls us 'deathcore' then I might do something very bad to them."[22] Kevin Boutot also rejected the deathcore label.[23]

Written by lead vocalist Vincent Bennett, the band's lyrics generally center around misanthropy[24] and nihilism.[25] Bennett employs misogynistic and sexually deviant imagery in his lyrics, but usually only as metaphors to help get his points across while keeping the songs' overall meanings open for interpretation.[24][25][26]

The Acacia Strain's influences include Candiria, Deftones, Rush, Iron Maiden, Crowbar, Meshuggah, Hatebreed, Slayer, Arch Enemy, and Overcast.[27][23][28]

Members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[29]		 US
Heat.
[30]		 US
Indie.
[31]		 US
Rock
[32]		 US
Hard Rock
[33]
...And Life Is Very Long
  • Released: September 2, 2002
  • Label: Devil's Head
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —————
3750
  • Released: July 13, 2004
  • Label: Devil's Head, Prosthetic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —————
The Dead Walk
  • Released: June 13, 2006
  • Label: Prosthetic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 —4047——
Continent
  • Released: August 19, 2008
  • Label: Prosthetic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 107213—18
Wormwood
  • Released: July 20, 2010
  • Label: Prosthetic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 67—6218
Death Is the Only Mortal
  • Released: October 9, 2012
  • Label: Rise
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 51—10215
Coma Witch
  • Released: October 14, 2014
  • Label: Rise
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 31—481
Gravebloom
  • Released: June 30, 2017
  • Label: Rise
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 146—4298
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

Singles

  • "Servant In the Place of Truth" (2012)

Demos

  • 2001 Demo (2001)

DVDs

Music videos

  • "Smoke Ya Later" (2004)
  • "3750" (2005)
  • "Angry Mob Justice" (2006)
  • "Skynet" (2009)
  • "The Hills Have Eyes" (2010)
  • "The Impaler" (2011)
  • "Cauterizer" (2014)
  • "Send Help" (2015)

References

  1. 1 2 "The Acacia Strain". MusicMight. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "The Acacia Strain". MixPod. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Unearth Frontman Is 'Excited' About Working with Producer Adam Dutkiewicz Again". Blabbermouth.net. April 24, 2008. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Official website". Prosthetic Records. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ "The Acacia Strain's 'The Most Known Unknown' DVD Lands on Billboard Chart". Blabbermouth.net. February 24, 2010. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  6. ↑ The Acacia Strain at Billboard.com
  7. ↑ "THE ACACIA STRAIN To Release 'Death Is The Only Mortal'". Blabbermouth.net. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Track listing and album cover for Death is the Only Mortal". Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Acacia Strain: 'Victims Of The Cave' Lyric Video Released - Blabbermouth.net". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Acacia Strain Van Accident: Group Crashes Outside of Los Angeles". Noisecreep. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Daniel DL Laskiewicz". Facebook. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  12. ↑ "NEWS: The Acacia Strain unveil new guitarists Devin Shidaker and Rich Gomez". Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  13. ↑ "THE ACACIA STRAIN "Cauterize" music video". Metal Injection. August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  14. ↑ The Acacia Strain. "Post from 22 May 2015". Facebook. Retrieved May 23, 2015. We will miss [Jack Strong] a ton and wish him the best with his future endeavors.
  15. ↑ "The Acacia Strain Officially Announce New Album; Listen to the First Single Here". MetalSucks. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Monger, James Christopher. "The Acacia Strain". Allmusic. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Hear the Acacia Strain's brutal new song "Bitter Pill"". Alternative Press. March 27, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Death Is the Only Mortal by The Acacia Strain on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  19. ↑ "The Acacia Strain and guitarist DL Laskiewicz part ways". Guitar Player. June 11, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  20. ↑ Heaney, Gregory. "Wormwood - The Acacia Strain". Allmusic. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  21. ↑ "The Acacia Strain Is My Favorite Band [W/ Interview]". MetalSucks. February 28, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  22. ↑ Bee Roth, David (December 30, 2008). "Exclusive Interview with The Acacia Strain's Vincent Bennett". MetalSucks. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  23. 1 2 Smart, Noel (July 21, 2011). "Interview With Kevin Boutot of The Acacia Strain – Summer 2011". Sick Drummer. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  24. 1 2 "The Acacia Strain - 2009 Interview with Vincent Bennett". hardtimes.ca. March 28, 2009. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  25. 1 2 "Interview with Vincent Bennett of The Acacia Strain". Sick Drummer Magazine. May 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  26. ↑ "The Acacia Strain Interview". Driven Far Off. May 26, 2006. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  27. ↑ Rosen, Steven (March 7, 2009). "Acacia Strain: 'We Keep Stuff Like That Really Tasteful'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  28. ↑ Doyle, Alan (December 30, 2003). "The Acacia Strain". Hardcore Times. Retrieved Agust 28, 2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. ↑ "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  30. ↑ "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  31. ↑ "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  32. ↑ "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  33. ↑ "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
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