The Acacia Strain

The Acacia Strain is an American metalcore band originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts.

The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain live in Saarbrücken in 2010
Background information
Origin	Chicopee, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore, deathcore
Years active	2001 (2001)–present
Labels	Rise Closed Casket Activities Prosthetic Devil's Head
Members	Vincent Bennett Kevin Boutot Devin Shidaker Griffin Landa Tom 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 currently signed to Rise Records.[1] In total, the group have released ten full-length albums.

History

Forming in 2001, The Acacia Strain was started by high school friends Vincent Bennett, Christopher Daniele, Ben Abert. Looking to bring their current band Septic Orgasm to the next level of technicality, they brought in their mutual friend, Karrie Whitfield, and high school student Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz to play Bass and guitar respectively. The band began playing local shows around Massachusetts and recorded their demo in 2001.

After DL received a shoulder injury while playing high school football, Vincent asked friend and current Blood Has Been Shed guitarist, Daniel Daponde, to fill in on guitar while DL healed from his injury. Daniel brought a heavier and more technical aspect to the band, so when DL returned they asked Daniel to stay, thus forming the unusual three guitar lineup.

After countless local shows, including quite a few in Vincent's mother's basement, the band was approached by Toby Dutkiewicz, who ran Devil's Head records, if they would join his label. The band agreed and recording for their debut album "...and Life is Very Long" began in 2002 at Zing recording studio in Westfield, Massachusetts with Adam Dutkiewicz and Jim Fogarty at the helm with Jim doing most of the tracking.

Artistry

Musical style

The Acacia Strain's music has been primarily described as deathcore[2][3] and metalcore,[4] and has been noted to include heavy influences from sludge,[5] doom metal[5] and death metal[6] along with some punk rock-style aesthetic and sensibilities.[7]

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."[5] 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."[8]

The band's former bassist, Jack Strong, describes their music as "hardcore-influenced metal",[9] Vocalist Vincent Bennett has described his dislike for the band being labeled "deathcore" and denies that their music is within the genre.[10] Drummer Kevin Boutot also rejected the deathcore label.[11]

The Acacia Strain's influences include Candiria, Integrity, Dismember, Deftones, Rush, Iron Maiden, Crowbar, Meshuggah, Hatebreed, Slayer, Arch Enemy, and Overcast.[12][11][13]

Lyrics

Written by lead vocalist Vincent Bennett, the band's lyrics generally center around misanthropy[14] and nihilism.[15] 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.[14][15][16]

Members

Current Vincent Bennett – lead vocals (2001–present) Kevin Boutot – drums (2005–present) Devin Shidaker – lead guitar, programming, backing vocals (2013–present) Griffin Landa – bass (2015–present) Tom "The Hammer" Smith, Jr. – rhythm guitar (2016–present)

Former Jeanne Sagan – bass (2003) Karrie Whitfield – bass (2001–2003) Ben Abert – drums (2001–2004, 2004-2005) Christopher Daniele – third guitar (2001–2005) Daniel “Outhouse” Daponde – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2001–2006) Seth Coleman – bass (2004–2006) Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz – lead guitar, programming (2001–2013); rhythm guitar (2007–2013) Jack Strong – bass (2006–2015) Richard Gomez – rhythm guitar (2013–2016)

Touring musicians Mark Castillo – drums (2004) Jon Preston - bass (2003) David Sroka – third guitar (2009) Mike Casavant – third guitar (2009–2010) Tim Cavallari – third guitar (2010–2012) Tony Diaz – third guitar (2010–2012) Matt Guglielmo – drums (2018)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [17]	US Heat. [18]	US Indie. [19]	US Rock [20]	US Hard Rock [21]
...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	—	40	47	—	—
Continent	Released: August 19, 2008 Label: Prosthetic Formats: CD, digital download	107	2	13	—	18
Wormwood	Released: July 20, 2010 Label: Prosthetic Formats: CD, digital download	67	—	6	21	8
Death Is the Only Mortal	Released: October 9, 2012 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download	51	—	10	21	5
Coma Witch	Released: October 14, 2014 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download	31	—	4	8	1
Gravebloom	Released: June 30, 2017 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download	146	—	4	29	8
It Comes In Waves [22]	Released: December 26, 2019 Label: Closed Casket Activities Formats: CD, digital download	—	—	—	—	—
Slow Decay [23]	Released: July 24, 2020 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download	87	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

• Money for Nothing (2013)
• Above/Below (2013)
• The Depression Sessions with Thy Art Is Murder and Fit for an Autopsy (2016)

Singles

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

Demos

• 2001 Demo (2001)

DVDs

• The Most Known Unknown (2010)

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. "The Acacia Strain". MusicMight. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
2. "Hear the Acacia Strain's brutal new song "Bitter Pill"". Alternative Press. March 27, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
3. "Death Is the Only Mortal by The Acacia Strain on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
4. "The Acacia Strain and guitarist DL Laskiewicz part ways". Guitar Player. June 11, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
5. Monger, James Christopher. "The Acacia Strain". Allmusic. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
6. Lets Talk About Knocked Loose Metalsucks
7. "THE ACACIA STRAIN IS MY FAVORITE BAND [W/ INTERVIEW]". MetalSucks. February 28, 2011.
8. Heaney, Gregory. "Wormwood - The Acacia Strain". Allmusic. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
9. "The Acacia Strain Is My Favorite Band [W/ Interview]". MetalSucks. February 28, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
10. Bee Roth, David (December 30, 2008). "Exclusive Interview with The Acacia Strain's Vincent Bennett". MetalSucks. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
11. Smart, Noel (July 21, 2011). "Interview With Kevin Boutot of The Acacia Strain – Summer 2011". Sick Drummer. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
12. Rosen, Steven (March 7, 2009). "Acacia Strain: 'We Keep Stuff Like That Really Tasteful'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
13. Doyle, Alan (December 30, 2003). "The Acacia Strain". Hardcore Times. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
14. "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.
15. "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.
16. "The Acacia Strain Interview". Driven Far Off. May 26, 2006. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
17. "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
18. "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
19. "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
20. "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
21. "The Acacia Strain – Chart History: Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
22. "NEWS: The Acacia Strain to drop ninth album, 'It Comes In Waves'! | DEAD PRESS! | It's more than "just music" to us". www.deadpress.co.uk.
23. DiVita, Joe. "The Acacia Strain Debut Two New Songs, Detail 'Slow Decay' Album". Loudwire. Retrieved July 21, 2020.

External links

• Official website