The Acacia Strain is an American
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...
band originally from
Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...
. They are currently signed to
Rise Records.
[ ] The band has released ten full-length albums.
History
Forming in 2001, The Acacia Strain was started by high school friends Vincent Bennett, Christopher Daniele, and 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
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...
, Bennett asked friend and current
Blood Has Been Shed guitarist, Daniel Daponde, to fill in on guitar while DL healed from his injury. The group felt Daponde brought a heavier and more technical aspect to the band, so when DL returned they wanted Daponde to stay, thus forming the unusual three guitar lineup.
After countless local shows, including quite a few in Bennett 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
Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz (born April 4, 1977) is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock, and ...
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
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with me ...
and
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...
, and has been noted to include heavy influences from
sludge,
doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
and
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...
along with some
punk rock-style aesthetic and sensibilities.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
characterizes the band's musical style as "utiliz
nga bone-crushing
rhythm section
A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band.
The rhyth ...
, apocalyptic
samples, and a unique triple-guitar assault to deliver their signature blend of
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
,
noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...
, death metal and doom metal."
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
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
and
Pantera
Pantera () is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup cons ...
."
Vocalist Vincent Bennett and drummer Kevin Boutot have both denied that The Acacia Strain is of the "deathcore genre", going as far as expressing dislike for the label,
though Bennett was later more ambivalent towards it, stating "sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't."
The Acacia Strain's influences include
Candiria,
Integrity
Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.
In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. In ...
,
Dismember
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...
,
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
,
Rush,
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...
,
Crowbar
A crowbar, also called a wrecking bar, pry bar or prybar, pinch-bar, or occasionally a prise bar or prisebar, colloquially, in Britain and Australia sometimes called a jemmy or jimmy (also called jemmy bar), gooseneck, or pig foot, is a tool ...
,
Meshuggah
Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...
,
Hatebreed
Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...
,
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...
,
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharis ...
, and
Overcast.
Lyrics
Written by lead vocalist Vincent Bennett, the band's lyrics generally center around
misanthropy
Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from the Greek words μῖ� ...
and
nihilism
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by I ...
.
Bennett employs
misogynistic
Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...
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.
Members
Current
*
Vincent Bennett
Vincent Bennett is an American musician, best known as the vocalist and only remaining original member of the American deathcore band The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain is an American metalcore band originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts. ...
– lead vocals
(2001–present)
* Kevin Boutot – drums
(2005–present)
* Devin Shidaker – lead guitar, backing vocals
(2013–present)
* Griffin Landa – bass
(2015–present)
* Mike Mulholland
(ex- Emmure) – rhythm guitar
(2022–present)
Former
* Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz – guitar, programming
(2001–2013); rhythm guitar
(2007–2013)
* Daniel Daponde – guitar, backing vocals
(2001–2006)
* Christopher Daniele – third guitar
(2001–2005)
* Ben Abert – drums
(2001–2004, 2004–2005)
* Karrie Whitfield – bass
(2001–2003)
*
Jeanne Sagan – bass
(2003)
* Seth Coleman – bass
(2004–2006)
* Jack Strong – bass
(2006–2015)
* Richard Gomez – rhythm guitar
(2013–2016)
* Tom Smith – rhythm guitar
(2016–2022)
Touring musicians
*
Mark Castillo – drums
(2004)
* John Preston – bass
(2003)
* David Sroka – rhythm guitar
(2009)
* Mike Casavant – rhythm guitar
(2009–2010)
* Tim Cavallari – lead guitar
(2010–2012)
* Tony Diaz – rhythm guitar
(2010–2012)
* Matt Guglielmo – drums
(2018)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
*''Money for Nothing'' (2013)
*''Above/Below'' (2013)
*''The Depression Sessions'' with
Thy Art Is Murder
Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian deathcore band from Blacktown, Sydney, that formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Jesse Beahler and bassist Kevin Butler. Thy Art Is ...
and
Fit for an Autopsy
Fit for an Autopsy is an American deathcore band from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 2008. The band consists of guitarists Pat Sheridan, Will Putney and Tim Howley, drummer Josean Orta, vocalist Joe Badolato, and bassist Peter "Blue" Spinazo ...
(2016)
Singles
*"Jonestown" (2010)
*"Servant in the Place of Truth" (2012)
*"Above – Below" (2013)
*"D" (2020)
*"E" (2020)
*"C" (2020)
*"A" (2020)
*"Y" (2020)
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)
*"One Thousand Painful Stings" (2020)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acacia Strain, The
2001 establishments in Massachusetts
Metalcore musical groups from Massachusetts
American deathcore musical groups
Musical groups established in 2001
Musical groups from Springfield, Massachusetts
Musical quintets
Rise Records artists