September 2, 2002 - The Acacia Strain and ...And Life Is Very Long

Six days after my last release a new band joins my library when The Acacia Strain released their debut album "...And Life Is Very Long" on September 2, 2002. But who is The Acacia Strain? They are a six-piece from Chicopee, Massachusetts in a fairly new genre known as deathcore, a cross between death metal and the budding metalcore genre. They consist of lead singer Vincent Bennett, lead guitarist Daniel Laskiewicz, bassist Karrie Whitfield, rhythm guitarists Christopher Daniele and Daniel Daponde and drummer Ben Abert. And who else would produce such a band, but our good friend Adam D. from Killswitch Engage! Let's dive into a brand new genre of heavy metal!

The album kicks off with "Cable Ready Techno Slut" and they dive right into a pretty damn heavy main riff with some super dirty and distorted guitars and Bennett screaming all over the place! He goes super low at times, hits some pretty high notes at others, and does everything in between! I love how he keeps mixing it up and keeping you guessing and he, and the super heavy and distorted music sound pretty good to me! There's even a Star Wars quote as everything stops and we hear Obi-Wan say "he's more machine now than man", then they slam into a pretty sweet and heavy new riff with lots of dirty low screams by Bennett. From here they argue nicely into a lighter, melodic guitar riff that keeps the pace while Laskiewicz delivers a pretty cool guitar solo overtop! They return to the distorted main riff to close things out and this was  all kinds of heavy for the whole five and a half minutes! It's like the metalcore bands we've heard over the last couple of years, but with even heavier vocals and even more distorted guitars and bass. Sign me up! Up next is the title track "...And Life Is Very Long" and it's only just over a minute long and has some loud guitar static in the background the whole time. We hear a man talking to a little girl and it sounds pretty creepy and dark, which I think is the vibe they were going for. Track 3 is "Roadhead Road" and Laskiewicz dives right into a fast-paced and distorted lead riff that sounds cool and the rest of the band falls behind him with a super heavy four man rhythm section with chugging guitars, distorted and heavy bass and some slow, epic drums. Bennett screams some long low screams that sound super heavy and great, then he switches to a nice high screaming verse overtop a cool new riff with the two rhythm guitarists syncing up for a heavy riff and Laskiewicz playing some epic and sweet lead guitar as well. Abert's drums are heavy and great as well and everything is a cacophony of heaviness! My head is banging non-stop and with three guitarists there is a ton of cool guitar throughout this whole song. The final minute is a nice breakdown with a slow heavy backdrop, but also two different faster guitar riffs overtop and it's a pretty fantastic way to heavily finish things off! The next track is "The Widowmaker" and words once again don't really do proper justice as they can't accurately describe everything going on in this six-piece metal band. Drums, distorted bass, heavy rhythm guitar, another different rhythm guitar, and epic lead guitar are present once again and again, everything sounds pretty damn heavy and cool. This song is four and a half minutes, and the first three minutes are instrumental and pretty heavy! Bennett finally joins in for the final minute and a half and he sounds good screaming high and holding some pretty long screams overtop some pretty sweet lead guitar, and some pretty damn good rhythm guitar as well! Another brutally heavy tune! Track 5 is titled "All She Wrote" and they kick right into a fantastic riff with some really great guitars and some fast high screams by Bennett and they are relentlessly heavy! I can't help but headbang along to this super heavy yet also somewhat catchy verse and I'm really loving deathcore so far! Bennett does some parts in a super low scream that also sounds fantastic and there is just so much great metal packed into this five and a half minute song that doesn't let up for a moment! Up next is "Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk", which is a quote from Alice in Wonderland, and it fits their very heavy and wicked formula with all kinds of cool heavy metal. The fast parts have some really sweet lead guitar by Laskiewicz and there's a fantastic slow breakdown midway through with some awesome low screams by Bennett. Abert's drums are pretty sweet the whole way through. These guys are easily one of the heaviest bands at this point in the timeline, another fantastic super heavy tune! Track 7 is "Killing On Empty" and it starts super slow with a nice chugging rhythm section, then Laskiewicz takes over with a super fast guitar riff that sounds pretty incredible! After a bit of face melting they slow things down to the slowest crawl and this just might be the heaviest breakdown we've heard so far in the timeline! Bennett hits both extremes with some phenomenal low screams and some great high ones as well and the music is just so punishingly heavy! This is my favourite song on the album, and that's high praise! Really well done! The next track is called "Noah Will Be Your Grave" and they dive right into a fast headbanger of a main riff with some speedy contributions from everyone. This only makes the breakdown sound even slower snd heavier when it hits and Laskiewicz is playing some wicked lead guitar overtop the crushing music. They shift seamlessly between really fast and breaking down multiple times and I think just all sounds pretty sweet! This song is almost six minutes long and words couldn't possibly do justice to all the cool metal they play in this song, including a midsection that is actually a little catchy, yet still super heavy somehow! These guys don't know the meaning of a lesser song, or any kind of comedown! Track 9 is "Doppelganger!" and it's right into yet another unique and cool main riff that I could describe the same way as all the rest: because there's still six guys all combining nicely for sweet new metal! There's a false ending about three and a half minutes in, only for them to snap into a speedy and cool new riff for another minute to actually finish things off. The final song on the album is the near seven minute "Sloth Loves Chunk" and it has a long, quiet intro with some light guitar and other noises. After thirty seconds they finally move into a typical(ly awesome) main riff and jam that out for a couple minutes. Then things get really quiet and we hear a female talking in the background, and she continues to talk even after the music comes crashing back in and Bennett screams overtop. It's an interesting dynamic, but ultimately the heavy side wins out as they shift into a super heavy new part and Bennett sounds so fucking heavy! The end of the song is another contender for breakdown of the album as the guitars are so god damn heavy and Bennett goes ridiculously low with his guttural screams. Pretty much the best ending you could ask for! But there's a bonus little bit for the last 25 seconds as we hear "Crazy Eddie" ramble about used cars, and he even says "if no one comes down here in the next hour and buys a car, I'm going to club this baby seal! I'm going to club a seal to make a deal!" Well that is one craaazy ending!

That is the end of "...And Life Is Very Long" and I thought it was a fantastic debut album by The Acacia Strain! 10 songs. No weak points at all, just unrelentingly good metal. They use the three guitarists really well on this album and everyone seems perfectly in sync to deliver some great faster parts, and some absolutely brutal slower parts! I can't wait to hear more from these guys!