"There are so many people today who are afraid to take their own stance. So many people just float through life with no meaning. They have no opinions of their own, nothing is theirs," says vocalist Vincent Bennett. "Yet at the same time, there are so many people who are so self-righteous, it's sickening. The Dead Walk focuses on that."
With the band's new record, The Acacia Strain have proved its intense and unforgiving musical tonnage has not compromised the bandís lyrical and aural integrity. The Dead Walk has The Acacia Strain making a social critique on the lull in cultural comfort, all the while displaying the bandís brutal heaviness alongside an uncanny, mosh-worthy sense of rhythm. The result: some of contemporary metalís heaviest and hardest songs, without ever losing sight of the bandís original goals.
"People say, 'Oh, The Acacia Strain is so tough or whatever,'" Bennett says. "Number one: We are the furthest thing from tough there is. Number two: We write the music we want to hear, and what we think kids will have the most fun with. We are trying to write heavy music. We love tech music, death metal, and hardcore, but we don't want to be those types of bands. We don't try to be something we aren't, bottom line."
Unconcerned with trends, and continually earning street credentials through constant touring, The Acacia Strain have surely upped the ante on The Dead Walk. This time around, the purveyors of all things heavy are tuning their guitars down further, allowing them to dig even deeper into the band's bowel-shaking, trademark sound they've been developing since 2002. In the time since the band released 3750, the Prosthetic Records debut from 2004, The Acacia Strain has dropped its provisional third guitar player, and in turn rotated in Seth Coleman and Kevin Boutot on bass and drums respectively, resulting in a sleeker, albeit more efficient band. "Seth and Kevin are two of the best things that happened to this band," Bennett says. "I honestly wouldn't want anyone else playing in this band. This is the most solid lineup we have ever had and I donít plan on it ever changing."
With a tight, stable line-up, The Dead Walk comes off as the band's most composed, confident effort yet, filled with Bennett's bestial bellows and a devastating one-two punch of swift riffs and chest-caving breaks. Thanks to the return of veteran producer Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage, All That Remains), The Acacia Strain has not missed a beat in the next installment of the bandís plans to traverse the realms of death metal, hardcore, and everything in-between. This mission is one that will be marked in success by the victims left in the wake of the band's unrelentingly heavy sound, city by city, venue by venue out on the road.
1. Sarin: The End 2. Burn Face 3. 4x4 4. As If Set Afire
5. Angry Mob Justice 6. Whoa! Shut It Down 7. See You Next Tuesday 8. Demolishor 9. Pity 10. Predator; Never Prey 11. The Dead Walk
THE ACACIA STRAIN CONTACT
Web
http://www.theacaciastrainmusic.com
Email
theacaciastrain@gmail.com
Booking
crimsonagency@hotmail.com
Produced by Adam D
Artwork by Paul Romano
Street date: June 6, 2006