The Acacia Strain is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 deathcore

Deathcore

Deathcore is an extreme metal music genre that combines elements of death metal with elements of metalcore or hardcore punk, or both. It is defined by an "excessive" use of death metal riffs, blast beats and use of hardcore punk breakdowns...

 band from Chicopee, Massachusetts

Chicopee, Massachusetts

Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 55,298, making it the second largest city in...

. Originally founded in 2001, the band itself has undergone numerous changes in the member line-up. To date they have released five studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

s, as well as two split album

Split album

A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...

s: one with Loyal to the Grave (on which they covered the Slayer

Slayer

Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

 song "Seasons in the Abyss") and another with This or the Apocalypse, War from a Harlots Mouth

War From a Harlots Mouth

War from a Harlots Mouth is a German metalcore band from Berlin, formed in 2005. Consisting of vocalist Nico, guitarists Simon and Daniel, bassist Filip, and drummer Paul, the band is noted for a distinct musical style consisting of infusing many different genres into their songs, such as math...

, Fact

Fact (band)

Fact is a Japanese post-hardcore band which formed in 1999 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Their music makes use of common hardcore punk and punk rock elements that include fast guitar riffs and a highly melodic style. Clean and screamed singing styles are both used, and gang vocals are present in...

, and Aggressive Dogs. The band has worked with acclaimed producers

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Adam Dutkiewicz

Adam Dutkiewicz

Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer and music producer, best known as a guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.-Biography:...

 and Chris "Zeuss

Zeuss

Chris "Zeuss" Harris is a record producer who specializes in metal and hardcore albums. He is based in Hadley, Massachusetts and he owns and operates Planet-Z recordings. Zeuss started his music career in metal bands, the best known being Doom Nation, before taking on music production full time...

" Harris.

The band released their DVD, The Most Known Unknown, on February 16, 2010. The band reached the Billboard Top 200 albums chart in 2008 with Continent

Continent (album)

Continent is the fourth studio album from the metal band The Acacia Strain. Recording began on April 13, 2008 and it was released August 19, 2008 via Prosthetic Records. Frontman Vincent Bennett also spoke to MTV News about the band's forthcoming LP, saying it was the band's "darkest" effort to...

and 2010 with Wormwood

Wormwood (The Acacia Strain)

Wormwood is the fifth studio album by The Acacia Strain. The album was released on July 20, 2010 on Prosthetic Records. Wormwood reached #67 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart. The song "Jonestown" was released as a single in June 2010, and was available at the website for Prosthetic Records...

.

They performed at Warped Tour 2011

Warped Tour 2011

Warped Tour 2011 is the 17th annual Summer Warped Tour festival. Vans Shoes is again the tour's primary sponsor. The tour dates were announced on November 22, 2010, with the first official band announcement on December 8...

 on the Advent Clothing stage along with We Came As Romans

We Came as Romans

We Came as Romans is an American rock band from Troy, Michigan. Formed in 2005, the band signed to Equal Vision Records in April 2009 and have released two EPs, Demonstrations and Dreams , and two full-length albums, To Plant a Seed and Understanding What We've Grown to Be...

, Set Your Goals

Set Your Goals

Set Your Goals is the debut album of the punk rock band CIV. It was released in October 1995 on Lava Records. The album is best known for the hit single "Can't Wait One Minute More"...

, Winds Of Plague

Winds of Plague

Winds of Plague is an American deathcore band from Upland, California, formed in 2002. They are best known as one of the only deathcore bands to incorporate symphonic elements into their music....

, Miss May I

Miss May I

Miss May I is an American metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. On December 6, 2008, Miss May I announced that they had been signed to Rise Records. The band's debut album, Apologies Are for the Weak, reached #29 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers, and #66 on Top Independent Albums. Their song, "Forgive and...

 and others.

Style and themes

All Music Guide

All Music Guide

Allmusic is a service of music guide, owned by All Media Guide. Allmusic was founded in 1991 by popular-culture archivist Michael Erlewine as a guide for consumers. Its first reference book was published the following year...

 characterizes the band's musical style as "utiliz[ing] a bone-crushing rhythm section

Rhythm section

A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...

, apocalyptic samples, and a unique triple-guitar assault to deliver their signature blend of hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

, noise

Noise music

Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...

, and death

Death metal

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 and doom metal

Doom metal

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

." 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

Sepultura

Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...

 and Pantera

Pantera

Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...

." The band's bassist, Jack Strong, describes their music as hardcore-influenced metal

Metalcore

Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...

. Although the band is sometimes classified as deathcore

Deathcore

Deathcore is an extreme metal music genre that combines elements of death metal with elements of metalcore or hardcore punk, or both. It is defined by an "excessive" use of death metal riffs, blast beats and use of hardcore punk breakdowns...

, lead vocalist Vincent Bennett has gone on record to say that deathcore "sucks" and that "if anyone calls us 'deathcore' then I might do something very bad to them."

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

Misanthropy

Misanthropy is generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt or hatred of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings...

 and nihilism

Nihilism

Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...

. Bennett employs misogynistic

Misogyny

Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...

 and sexually deviant

Paraphilia

Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...

 imagery in his lyrics, but usually only as metaphors to help get his points across while keeping the songs' overall meanings open for interpretation.

Band members

Current Members

Vincent Bennett – lead vocals (2001–present)

Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz – guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)

Kevin Boutot – drums (2005–present)

Jack Strong – bass guitar, backing vocals (2006–present)

Tim Cavallari – guitars (touring)(2010–present)

Antonio Diaz – guitars (touring)(2010–present)
Former Members

Christopher Daniele – guitars (2001–2005)

Daniel Daponde – guitars (2001–2006)

Karrie Whitfield – bass (2001–2003)

Jeanne Sagan – bass (2003)

Seth Coleman – bass (2004–2006)

Ben Abert – drums (2001–2004)

Mark Castillo – drums (2004–2005)

David Sroka – guitars (2009)

Mike Casavant – guitars (2009–2010)

Discography

Year	Title	Record label	US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...  peak
2002	...And Life Is Very Long	Devil's Head	—
2004	3750	Devil's Head, Prosthetic Prosthetic Records Prosthetic Records is a record label specializing in heavy metal recordings. Founded by E.J. Johantgen and Dan Fitzgerald both former employees of Columbia Records, in Los Angeles, California in 1998...	—
2006	The Dead Walk The Dead Walk (album) The Dead Walk is the 3rd studio album from the band The Acacia Strain. It was produced with Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage under Prosthetic Records."-Track listing:-Personnel:The Acacia Strain* Vincent Bennett - lead vocals...	Prosthetic	—
2008	Continent Continent (album) Continent is the fourth studio album from the metal band The Acacia Strain. Recording began on April 13, 2008 and it was released August 19, 2008 via Prosthetic Records. Frontman Vincent Bennett also spoke to MTV News about the band's forthcoming LP, saying it was the band's "darkest" effort to...		#107
2010	Wormwood Wormwood (The Acacia Strain) Wormwood is the fifth studio album by The Acacia Strain. The album was released on July 20, 2010 on Prosthetic Records. Wormwood reached #67 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart. The song "Jonestown" was released as a single in June 2010, and was available at the website for Prosthetic Records...		#67

Videography

• "Smoke Ya Later" (2004)
• "3750" (2005)
• "Angry Mob Justice" (2006)
• "Skynet" (2009)
• The Most Known Unknown
  The Most Known Unknown
  The Most Known Unknown, was recorded on December 28, 2008 in Worcester, Massachusetts at The Palladium. The band shared the stage with The Red Chord, Whitechapel, Shipwreck AD, Cruel Hand, and Thy Will Be Done.-Disc 1 - Live At The Palladium:...
  
  (DVD, 2010)
• "The Hills Have Eyes" (2010)
• "The Impaler" (2011)