On May 12, the Acacia Strain released two new albums for the price of one, ushering in a new era for a band whose evolution tracks back more than 20 years. In that time, several members have come and gone. The music, while maintaining a core identity, shifted from the early, breakdown-heavy days of 3750 to the viciously structured and faster paced sound of Coma Witch and subsequent releases.
But, to vocalist Vincent Bennett, he finds it hard to picture the Acacia Strain before its current iteration—as if the band’s present lineup and trajectory was simply meant to be.
“This is the best that the band has ever felt,” Bennett says as he preps for one of his regular twitch streams, a side-hustle picked up during the pandemic. “It’s always been me and Kevin (Boutot, drummer). But it doesn’t feel like it’s ever been anything but this right now. It’s hard for me to remember a time before Devin was in the band. It’s hard for me to remember a time before Griffin was in the band. I don’t even know what years they joined at this point. And Mike coming in last year—he was such a natural addition after Tom left. It’s almost like he just belonged here all along.”
That sense of cohesion bares fruit on the band’s newest releases Step Into The Light and Failure Will Follow.
The former boasts the distilled and well-honed edge fans have come to expect from TAS. Favoring brevity, songs like the opening track, Flourishing, rarely hit the three-minute mark, baring teeth in under 90 seconds. Screaming “Step into the light” Bennett ferociously reiterates the album title as if to say, “We know exactly what you want us to do, and we’ll do it better than anyone.”
However, Failure Will Follow drastically changes tack, leaning into the band’s love for doom and leaping to the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of length. The second of three tracks, Bog Walker, sits just over 17 well-earned minutes. Guitarists Devin Shidaker and Mike Mulholland let riffs breathe and hang in the air. Bennett’s screams take on a ritualistic, reverent tone in lieu of the fast and aggressive lyricism exemplified in previous releases.
As Bennett puts it, the albums allowed TAS to explore an alternate reality; to push themselves and fans out of their comfort zone without a full departure from the group’s deathcore roots.
“That’s why we did this record over here and [another] record over here,” he explains, “so people could have the beatdown mosh if they wanted, and they could have this sad, soul-crushing doom if they wanted that, too. We don’t want to box ourselves in, we want to do everything we want to be able to — to write and record any kind of music without being held back to genre, because I feel like there’s a lot of bands that pigeonhole themselves.”
While some fans will always push back on new material — Bennett recalls a particular comment on social media accusing the band of ripping off fans by not packaging the new albums together — the goal was never monetary.
Listen to the albums for free on YouTube or Spotify, Bennett urges. The Acacia Strain wants to create memorable experiences for people first and foremost.
The vocalist tempers the negative comment with a story from his mother after she came to a show for support. She pulled Bennett aside to tell him about a young kid with just enough money to buy one shirt. He sat there pouring over the merch table looking for the perfect one and couldn’t have been happier as he walked away with his prize—just happy to grab a memento of the occasion.
“That moment right there brought me so down to earth, because up until that point, I was seeing people as numbers,” Bennett says. “But, it’s not about how much [you sell], you know, but it’s that individual experience where that one kid had $10 and he could buy one shirt, and it was the happiest moment he’s had in such a long time.”
He goes on to remember his own experiences as an early fan, being treated poorly by merch and band guys who didn’t care.
“So, I want to be the antithesis of that,” he exclaims. “I want to be the person that thanks every single person when I can for their support. Even if they didn’t buy a T-shirt. They came to the show, they’ve spent their night with us, and that’s more important than anything.”
That sentiment rings more important than ever as dozens of kids and adults alike enter the heavy music community through TikTok and other platforms. Scenes across the country are seeing dozens, if not hundreds of new faces. There’s growing pains, sure, but Bennett wants the community to grow. The diversity coming from new fans only strengthens that sense of cohesion.
“I see new people coming in all the time, whether people come in from TikTok, or seeing us on tour with a band that we normally wouldn’t tour with,” Bennett says. “Now, [at shows] there’s a guy and he’s got pink hair. And, oh, there’s a person who’s trans. And I feel like I belong here. And everybody’s so nice. People fall down, people get hit, and they get picked right back up, dusted off and sent on their way. Everybody’s so understanding, especially now.”
With the pandemic waning and a strong sense of appreciation, Bennett says the Acacia Strain is moving full steam ahead into a year of heavy touring and work on the next project.
“Devin’s already writing riffs now for the record that’s coming out who knows when,” he hints.
You can listen to Step Into The Light and Failure Will Follow on all major streaming services. Follow the Acacia Strain on their website or @theacaciastrain.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Berfors
