The Acacia Strain

The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain
	The Acacia Strain in 2014
Background information
Origin	Chicopee, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore; Deathcore; Downtempo; Beatdown;
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Rise; Closed Casket Activities; Prosthetic; Devil's Head;
Members	Vincent Bennett; Devin Shidaker; Griffin Landa; Mike Mulholland; Matt Guglielmo;
Past members	Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz; Christopher Daniele; Daniel "Outhouse" Daponde; Karrie Whitfield; Jeanne Sagan; Seth Coleman; Ben Abert; Kevin Boutot; Jack Strong; Richard Gomez; Tom Smith;

The Acacia Strain is an American deathcore band that was founded in 2001 and originally based in Chicopee, Massachusetts, but now based out of Albany, New York. The group is currently signed to Rise Records and initially consisted of high school friends Vincent Bennett, Christopher Daniele, and Ben Abert, Karrie Whitfield, Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz, and Daniel Daponde joining shortly after. They recorded and released their debut album ...And Life Is Very Long in 2002 via Devil's Head records. Since then, the band has released eleven more full-length albums.

Artistry

Musical style

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

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." 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."

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, Dismember, Deftones, Rush, Iron Maiden, Crowbar, Meshuggah, Hatebreed, Slayer, Arch Enemy, and Overcast.

Lyrics

Written by lead vocalist Vincent Bennett, the band's lyrics generally center around misanthropy and nihilism. 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.

Members

Current

Vincent Bennett – lead vocals (2001–present)
Devin Shidaker – lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)
Griffin Landa – bass (2015–present)
Mike Mulholland – rhythm guitar (2022–present)
Matt Guglielmo – drums (2023–present)

Former

Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz – lead guitar, programming (2001–2013); rhythm guitar (2007–2013)
Daniel Daponde – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2001–2006)
Christopher Daniele – third guitar (2001–2005)
Ben Abert – drums (2001–2004)
Karrie Whitfield – bass (2001–2003)
Jeanne Sagan – bass (2003)
Seth Coleman – bass (2004–2006)
Kevin Boutot – drums (2005–2023)
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)
Terrance Pettitt - drums (2023)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
Title	Album details	US	US Heat.	US Indie.	US Rock	US Hard Rock
...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	Released: December 26, 2019 Label: Closed Casket Activities Formats: CD, digital download	—	—	—	—	—
Slow Decay	Released: July 24, 2020 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download	87	—	1	1	1
Step Into the Light	Released: May 12, 2023 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl	—	—	—	—	—
Failure Will Follow	Released: May 12, 2023 Label: Rise Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

The Most Known Unknown (2010)

EPs

When Angels Shed Their Wings Volume 3 with Loyal to the Grave (2003)
Money for Nothing (2013)
The Depression Sessions with Thy Art Is Murder and Fit for an Autopsy (2016)

Singles

"Jonestown" (2010)
"Servant in the Place of Truth" (2012)
"Above" / "Below" (2013)
"Bitter Pill" (2017)
"Big Sleep" (2017)
"D" (2020)
"E" (2020)
"C" (2020)
"A" (2020)
"Y" (2020)
"Untended Graves" (2022)
"Fresh Bones" (2023)
"Chain" (feat. Jacob Lilly) (2022)

Demos

Demo 2001 (2001)
Demo 2002 (2002)

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)