The Acacia Strain Destroys It In Iowa!

Very soon, you will be seeing a review of The Acacia Strain’s upcoming release entitled “Gravebloom”, which is due out June 30th via Rise Records.  Not only that, but you will get to see our interview with Griffin Landa, who is the bass player for The Acacia Strain!  Tell you what, it was definitely one of the coolest interviews I have conducted.  It definitely helps having some coolness to interview, it’s definitely not my lame self that’s for sure!  This past Monday, The Acacia Strain played a one-off date at the Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines with unsigned talent Ghosthive, Katastrophes Tomb, and Blood Spell getting an opportunity to open for a band that is going to be tearing up the Vans Warped Tour stage for the next two months!  It was a packed show, especially for an early show on a Monday afternoon/evening.  Blood Spell was the first to start off this early show!

Blood Spell is a three-piece doom-metal band out of Des Moines, Iowa.  They are composed of Tanner on guitars/vocals, Derek on bass, and Javi on drums.  I would say that they are pretty influenced by the likes of Pallbearer meets early Black Sabbath.  I enjoyed the sludgy, doom structure of the sound, and I feel that this band is pretty tight in their musicianships and arrangements.  There was definitely more instrumental flavoring in their music, which I thought added a cool, unique touch to the sound!  I see Blood Spell growing as a band as they take advantage of these opportunities, especially getting to open for The Acacia Strain during The Acacia Strain’s one-off show before they venture off on the Vans Warped Tour.  In the meantime, check out Blood Spell on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bloodxspellofficial.  Katastrophes Tomb was the next band to take the stage.

Unfortunately, I missed out on Katastrophes Tomb because I was conducting my conversation with Griffin Landa of The Acacia Strain, however I thought I would mention them with a brief bio.  My apologies to the band, after catching the very tail end of their set, I hope to catch them at an upcoming show soon.  On Saturday, July 22nd, they will be sharing the stage with VYCES, Blue Felix, and headliners Dead Horse Trauma at Wooly’s in Des Moines.  Katastrophes Tomb brought more of a alternative metal vibe to the Vaudeville Mews stage.  Katastrophes Tomb is composed of Vincent Venn on vocals, Taylor Soloman on drums, Brian Lundy on guitars, and Curtis Coleone on bass.  From what I gathered, they kind of have an old-school alternative/nu metal vibe to them, kind of like the bands 40 Below Summer and Skrape in a round about way with their grooves and how the vocals blended in with the arrangements of the music.  I will be checking out Katastrophes Tomb at www.facebook.com/KTMusic515 .  Ghosthive was the next to take the stage.

Out of Des Moines, Iowa is a band that’s on the rise called ghosthive.  ghosthive is composed of J. Greiner, Austin Thomas, Tyler Johnson, Brad Millis, and Michael Cornelison.  They’re a band that definitely didn’t beat around the bush.  Definitely no gimmicks and no frills about this band out of Des Moines.  They definitely got the audience warmed up for The Acacia Strain, especially when they played their single that they released a music video for called “Born In The Fryer”.  In the meantime, check out ghosthive on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ghosthiveofficial.  The Acacia Strain was the last to take the stage!

The Acacia Strain was definitely what the crowd was waiting with baited breath for!  Not to mention ready to mosh and hardcore dance for.  They were absolutely mindblowing live!  What I definitely appreciated about their set was that they made the audience that was jam packed in Vaudeville Mews feel like they were a part of a movement or a part of a revolution.  Vincent Bennett commands the stage like a demagogue commands his countrymen(or countrywomen in Marie Antoinette’s case, sorry I’m a history buff).  The rhythm section mixes doom with hardcore and even a splash of punk/rock elements, and the guitars definitely provide the dark and doom feeling to the songs that The Acacia Strain provided.  One-off shows are a great way to road test new material as The Acacia Strain will be releasing “Gravebloom” on June 30th via Rise Records, and the crowd responded amazingly well to cuts off of that album, including “Bitter Pill” and “Big Sleep”.  The crowd went ballistic as they played their classics such as “Cauterizer”, “JFC”, and “Skynet”.

Here is their music video for “Big Sleep”

Check out The Acacia Strain at the following locations:

www.facebook.com/Theacaciastrain

www.twitter.com/theacaciastrain

www.instagram.com/theacaciastrain

Check out the Vans Warped Tour dates below!

Friday, June 16th at CenturyField North Lot in Seattle, Washington

Saturday, June 17th at Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem, Oregon

Wednesday, June 21st at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Thursday, June 22nd at Fear Farm Festival Grounds in Phoenix, Arizona

Friday, June 23rd at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

Saturday, June 24th at Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah

Sunday, June 25th at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado

Tuesday, June 27th at The Fairgrounds Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee

Thursday, June 29th at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia

Friday, June 30th at Tinker Field in Orlando, Florida

Saturday, July 1st at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg, Florida

Sunday, July 2nd at Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida

Tuesday, July 4th at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, North Carolina

Thursday, July 6th at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina

Friday, July 7th at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey

Saturday, July 8th at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York

Sunday, July 9th at Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut

Monday, July 10th at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Tuesday, July 11th at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Wednesday, July 12th at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts

Thursday, July 13th at Darien Lake PAC in Darien Center, New York

Friday, July 14th at Keybank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania

Saturday, July 15th at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey

Sunday, July 16th at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland

Tuesday, July 18th at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Wednesday, July 19th at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio

Thursday, July 20th at Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana

Friday, July 21st at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan

Saturday, July 22nd at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park, Illinois

Sunday, July 23rd at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota

Monday, July 24th at Marcus Amphitheatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Wednesday, July 26th at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri

Thursday, July 27th at Providence Medical Center Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas

Friday, July 28th at Starplex Pavilion in Dallas, Texas

Saturday, July 29th at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas

Sunday, July 30th at NRG Park in Houston, Texas

Tuesday, August 1st at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico

Friday, August 4th at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California

Saturday, August 5th at Qualcomm Stadium at Jack Murphy Field in San Diego, California

Sunday, August 6th at Fairplex Pomona in Pomona, California

Visit www.vanswarpedtour.com for tickets and further information!