The Acacia Strain‘s eighth album, 2020’s Slow Decay, is getting a new vinyl pressing. We have an exclusive variant, on ghostly bone and black vinyl, and limited to 300 copies. Pick up yours HERE while they last.
In our review of Slow Decay, we wrote:
In very late 2019 (the day after Christmas), The Acacia Strain surprise-released a new album, It Comes In Waves, and it found the long-running band exploring a more doomy, atmospheric side than usual. (It also came out on the smaller Closed Casket Activities, rather than their usual label Rise Records.) Guitarist Devin Shidaker recently told MetalSucks that the surprise release was done in part because the album was so different for The Acacia Strain, and they didn’t want fans to have any preconceived notions going into it, and it seemed to work out for them. It Comes In Waves was received well, and deservingly so. It found a veteran band reinventing themselves and proving that their creative juices are flowing as much or more than ever.
Less than a year later, The Acacia Strain have followed that album with Slow Decay, and this one got an unconventional release too. The band have been releasing it as a series of two-song singles over the course of the past few months; eight of the ten songs were already out before today, so if you’ve been following along, you’ve already heard most of it. Slow Decay is out on the band’s usual label Rise Records and it’s a little more “typical” of The Acacia Strain, but also if this band have proved anything over the years, it’s that they’re never really typical of anything and they continue to reinvent themselves. They’ve spent years fusing together hardcore, death metal, sludge metal, and more in increasingly interesting ways, and Slow Decay is no exception. This one features guest vocals from members of three cool newer hardcore bands (Mortality Rate’s Jess Nyx, Jesus Piece’s Aaron Heard, Left Behind’s Zach Hatfield, plus sung vocals by Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox / Iwrestledabearonce), and Slow Decay sounds as fresh within the current hardcore scene as those bands do. It’s a more forceful album than It Comes In Waves, but sometimes the atmospheric side of that album sneaks into this one too. It’s a genuinely inventive take on metallic hardcore without abandoning the traits that longtime Acacia Strain fans know and love, and for a band nearly 20 years into their career, that’s a pretty impressive feat.
Get exclusive variants of Failure Will Follow, Step Into The Light, and 3750 in the BV store, as well.
The Acacia Strain are on tour in North America through November, including a Brooklyn show with Dying Fetus, Despised Icon, Creeping Death, and Gates to Hell on November 17 at Warsaw, and Australian shows to follow in January. See all dates below.
THE ACACIA STRAIN: 2023-2024 TOUR DATES
Oct 17 Tue Bogart’s Cincinnati, OH, United States
Oct 18 Wed Roxian Theatre Mckees Rocks, PA, United States
Oct 19 Thu Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA, United States
Oct 20 Fri Canal Club Richmond, VA, United States
Oct 21 Sat Hangar 1819 Greensboro, NC, United States
Oct 22 Sun The Masquerade Atlanta, GA, United States
Oct 24 Tue The Beacham Orlando, FL, United States
Oct 26 Thu Warehouse Live Houston, TX, United States
Oct 27 Fri The Echo Lounge & Music Hall Dallas, TX, United States
Oct 28 Sat Come and Take It Live Austin, TX, United States
Oct 30 Mon Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, NM, United States
Oct 31 Tue The Marquee Phoenix, AZ, United States
Nov 1 Wed House of Blues San Diego San Diego, CA, United States
Nov 2 Thu The Belasco Theater Los Angeles, CA, United States
Nov 3 Fri The Catalyst Santa Cruz, CA, United States
Nov 4 Sat Ace Of Spades Sacramento, CA, United States
Nov 5 Sun Observatory Santa Ana, CA, United States
Nov 7 Tue The Depot Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Nov 9 Thu Summit Music Hall Denver, CO, United States
Nov 10 Fri The Granada Lawrence, KS, United States
Nov 11 Sat The Lyric at Skyway Theatre Minneapolis, MN, United States
Nov 12 Sun Concord Music Hall Chicago, IL, United States
Nov 13 Mon Saint Andrew’s Hall Detroit, MI, United States
Nov 14 Tue House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH, United States
Nov 15 Wed Water Street Music Hall Rochester, NY, United States
Nov 17 Fri Warsaw Brooklyn, NY, United States
Nov 18 Sat Rams Head Live! Baltimore, MD, United States
Nov 19 Sun Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA, United States
Jan 11 Thu The Zoo Fortitude Valley, Australia
Jan 12 Fri Hamilton Station Hotel Newcastle, Australia
Jan 13 Sat Crowbar Sydney, Australia
Jan 14 Sun Tattersalls Hotel Penrith, Australia
Jan 16 Tue UC Hub Canberra, Australia
Jan 17 Wed Prince Bandroom St.kilda, Australia
Jan 18 Thu Barwon Club Hotel South Geelong, Australia
Jan 19 Fri UniBar Adelaide Adelaide, Australia
Jan 20 Sat Amplifier Bar Perth, Australia
