Review: “A” by The Acacia Strain

Another random date and surprise release 7″ vinyl from The Acacia Strain. D, E, C and now A… so the (first) word could be “Decay”, which if you follow the artwork of the covers to this point you’ll see happening gradually in the background. What’s interesting about this one is that having had a guest on the three prior releases in Aaron Herd of Jesus Piece, Jess Nyx of Mortality Rate and Zach Hatfield of Left Behind this one does not. So what do the  Chicopee, Massachusetts Deathcore titans have in store for us this time?

The satisfying crunch of the thunderous “Inverted Person” is heavy end Metallic Hardcore meeting Deathcore in a dark alley for a punch up that is only going to end up one way. A solid cut with Kevin Boutot putting in a serious shift with some rolling thunder fills and the combination of the brutal vocals from Vincent Bennett and dark oppressive atmosphere of the guitar work with some exceptional leads makes this one an instant win. “Chhinnamasta” keeps the same lead stylings and atmosphere while Bennett offers bleak and nihilistic lyrics delivered with a ferocious roar. The endless riffs from Devin Shidaker and Tom Smith are in that timeless category, they have the air of the familiar to them while being different enough and bolstered by the choice of tone to make them instantly recognisable and gratifying while the haunting lead parts that join the two tracks together are something special. Let’s hope this series doesn’t end with “Y” because it has been a plentiful bounty so far [8/10]

Track listing

1. Inverted Person
2. Chhinnamasta

Pre-orders for the 7″ vinyl edition of “A” and the three previous editions in this collection are available here