This year has been a pretty darn solid year for Massachusetts(and Iowa’s own) The Acacia Strain, who has had their fifth consecutive album charted in the Billboard 200 and had a great run with the Vans Warped Tour this year. The Acacia Strain is prepared to embark on an Australian tour with Kublai Khan, and is riding the wave of success off of “Gravebloom”.
The Acacia Strain has seen band member changes, however, Vincent Bennett remains the constant in the band as the founder and vocalist of the band since 2001. The Acacia Strain is also composed of Griffin Landa(formerly of Too Pure To Die) on bass, Devin Shidaker(formerly of Oceano) on guitars, Kevin Boutot on drums, and Tom Smith, Jr. on rhythm guitar. They would initially sign a record contract with The Devil’s Head and release their debut record entitled “And Life Is Very Long”. In 2004, The Acacia Strain would sign with Prosthetic Records and release their second album “3750”.
They would release their debut music video entitled “Smoke Ya Later”. Fans began to take notice of The Acacia Strain’s intense lyrics on their hatred for human nature and nihilism and they would build an intense underground fanbase that they are becoming notorious for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8DSWl4eFLE
They would also release their title track “3750” music video. Despite little press, “3750” would amass over 100,000 hits on YouTube.
After “3750”, The Acacia Strain would release three more albums entitled “The Dead Walk”, which would peak at No. 40 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts, “Continent” in 2008, which would chart at No. 107 on the Billboard 200 and peak at No. 2 on the Heatseekers charts, and “Wormwood” in 2010, which would peak at No. 67 on the Billboard 200. Hardcore fans of The Acacia Strain cite tracks such as “JFC”, “Skynet”, and “Angry Mob Justice” from those albums as staples to their live set, especially when they are playing those underground shows. During this time with Prosthetic Records, The Acacia Strain would provide direct support for Hatebreed on the Stillborn Fest, which also included bands such as Crowbar, The Casualties, and Thy Will Be Done. The Acacia Strain would play at Vans Warped Tour in 2011 on the Advent Clothing stage alongside We Came As Romans, Set Your Goals, Winds Of Plague, and Miss May I. The Acacia Strain would leave Prosthetic Records and sign with Rise Records.
The Acacia Strain has created three albums under Rise Records, including “Death Is The Only Mortal” in 2012, “Coma Witch” in 2014, and “Gravebloom” in 2017. “Coma Witch” was The Acacia Strain’s highest charting album, as it peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard 200. This stint with Rise Records included a 2012 U.K. tour with Architects, Vans Warped Tour run in 2017 and release of music videos for “Cauterizer” in 2014 and “Send Help” in 2015. During Rise Records, some hardcore fans have accused The Acacia Strain of being “sellouts” simply because they joined up with that record label, citing that Rise Records is more mainstream than Prosthetic Records.
Madness To Creation’s take: We have interviewed The Acacia Strain twice and had the opportunity to review “Gravebloom”, and The Acacia Strain through their seemingly violent yet philosophical lyrics on misanthrope and nihilism, and just their disdain for politics and organized religion, and trends(especially), have taken the non-conformist approach and carved their niche by going the unconventional route. As a result of this, the path that The Acacia Strain has chosen has produced a longevity in their career(still going strong after 16 years in the game) and they have an underground fanbase that is diehard for them. Plus, if you ever follow Vincent Bennett on Twitter, he has one of the more entertaining Twitter pages out there! Madness To Creation rates their career thus far and the band an 8.5 out of 10! Keep doing it your own way boys!
The Acacia Strain is currently touring with Kublai Khan in Australia. Check out tour dates below!
Monday, December 4th- The Brightside in Brisbane
Tuesday, December 5th- Small Ballroom in Newcastle
Wednesday, December 6th- Factory Theatre in Marrickville
Friday, December 8th- The Basement in Canberra
Saturday, December 9th- Invasion Fest in Melbourne
Sunday, December 10th- Corner Hotel in Richmond
Monday, December 11th- Fowler’s Live in Adelaide SA,
Tuesday, December 12th- Amplifier Bar in Perth
For tickets and further information for any of the shows listed above, click here!
ICYMI: Check out our Warped Tour interview with The Acacia Strain here!
ICYMI: Check out our concert review of The Acacia Strain here!
ICYMI: Check out our interview with Griffin Landa of The Acacia Strain here!
ICYMI: Check out our review of “Gravebloom” here! Go pick up a copy if you haven’t done so!
Find The Acacia Strain at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/theacaciastrain
www.theacaciastrain.merchnow.com
www.twitter.com/theacaciastrain
www.instagram.com/theacaciastrain
