The Acacia Strain – Wormwood
Who the hell do The Acacia Strain think they are? I mean honestly, do they think that they can just go around being the meanest, angriest band to ever grace God’s green earth? Maybe they think they can just have some sort of cult following of fans that literally go to shows to physically maul and destroy not only themselves, but also every living creature that looks their way. Do they believe that they can literally capture pure hate, death and destruction in an audio format and release it to the world under the ever so clever title, Wormwood? Apparently The Acacia Strain has been smoking something funny, because not only do they believe they can do it…they know they have already have done it. With the release of their latest album, Wormwood, The Acacia Strain solidifies their place in the metal community. This album is everything you could ask for and more, and with Vincent Bennett fronting the band you know it is going to be drenched in enough pure revulsion to trigger World War III. The man literally hates everything! If you were to mug an old lady, this man would hate you. If you were to steal a person’s car, this man would hate you. If you were to leave the milk out on the counter…this man would hate you.
Formed in 2001, these Massachusetts metal heads have been ripping up the streets from day one, with an extensive touring schedule that has included sharing the stage with bands such as Hatebreed, As I Lay Dying, Every Time I Die and more. The band has developed an unparalleled stage performance and a following of fans that would kill, riot and steal for the band. Along the way they have also managed to release four studio albums, with a fifth one set to drop this Tuesday. The fifth album, entitled Wormwood, is The Acacia Strain’s best material to date! It couples the neck destroying, head banging, hate infused rhythm sections from The Dead Walk with some of the more progressive and very refreshing elements that Continent had to offer.
The album starts out with what can only be described as a psychotic and very murderous mental breakdown with an extremely morbid message from a very unsettling voice. It acts as the sign over the gates of hell, warning anyone looking to venture further down this rabbit hole to hell. “Beast” is just what it implies, it is heavy and feels like sludge with the guitars playing this sliding dissonant harmony over the bone cracking full bodied thickness of the rhythm section. Vince bellows “We all come from broken homes, broken hearts and broken bones,” gathering the abused, neglected and forgotten together in spirit and rage. The album does a good job maintaining this slow, rhythmic feeling through out most of it. Tracks like “BTM FDR” and “Terminated” really use this to their advantage and are quite possibly some of the best tracks on this album.
The band does switch it up, helping to keep the album fresh and less repetitious. Songs like “Ramirez” and “The Carpathian” are up-tempo, circle pit ammunition for what will surely lead to plenty of broken noses on tour. It was something they were going for during the first couple tracks on Continent, only this time the nailed it. In fact, the band nails everything, and puts the final nail in the coffin with Wormwood. It’s a coffin full of hatred and malice for mankind and I am loving every second of it. If you’re upset, angry or generally pissed off, find the biggest speakers possible, crank this to 10 and let the medication begin. RIYL: American Me and Recon
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51 Comments
July 17th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I couldn't agree more. This is pure rage in audio format.
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July 17th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Absolutely KILLER album. And I mean that literally. The sound is diverse, powerful, and remorseless. Vincent is at the top of his game lyrically, too. My personal favorite: "I walk to the gallows, my mother begins to cry, I spit upon the ground, you're all gonna f****ng die". Gives me chills. Nice review man!
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July 17th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Never heard an angrier record, to be honest. It was pretty fun to listen to.
And the album turned out better than I expected, there are a few pearls!
Good review!
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Jen replied:
July 17th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I agree – I don't think I've ever heard an angrier album either, nor an angrier band. To quote Juliff earlier this week…""MY CAR IS LOW ON GAS, NO GAS STATION!! BLOW UP THE EARTH!!" That is absolutely TAS.
And Max, I've been meaning to ask about the origin of your blog name. Dane Cook? lol
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Max replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Haha, indeed. It would fit well as soundtrack to the apocalypse.
I actually have no idea what/who Dane Cook is.
I just made it up, and thought it fit well.
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Jen replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Funny you say that. Lee said that about The Browning's album. Check out the review because it's goooood!
And as for Dane Cook – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7GgnVFgaBw (at about 1:40)
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Max replied:
July 19th, 2010 at 5:44 am
Heh, really? Gonna read that review too, then.
Aaah, well it's not quite the name of my blog but well, as mentioned, I just made it up without any inspiration whatsoever.
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Max replied:
July 19th, 2010 at 5:46 am
Hah, it was kind of creepy that we both said that albums were the soundtrack to the apocalype..! I hadn't even read the review until now.
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Jen replied:
July 19th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Yeah, now that I listened to it, it's not exactly the same. But that's just what I thought of.
And yeah, especially odd/creepy since he compared The Browning to The Acacia Strain. Maybe listen to both albums back to back for twice as much destruction? haha
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Max replied:
July 19th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I can see how you would, ^^
Oh dear, the horror. The repercussions are probably comparable to dividing by zero – it mustn't be done! I think I may have to check The Browning out…
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July 17th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Boring at best, The Carpathian is decent though.
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July 17th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
From the songs I have heard, sounds awesome.
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July 17th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
It ain't The Dead Walk, still their angriest to date, but it's something special. There's even…a bit of hopeful philosophy in there. As I twittered earlier, Bay of Pigs has the following line in between the frothing hate: "Just because you're breathing, doesn't mean you're alive. Just because you're human, doesn't mean you have to die."
I mean, come on Vince, where's the hate man? Getting soft on us?
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Luke Amos replied:
July 17th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
He had a good long talk with his mom. "Now Vinnie dear, must you always be so angry?"
"Fine mom…"
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
July 17th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Yes, and then he wrote what I posted above. Hahaha.
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Luke Amos replied:
July 17th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Haha his childhood must have been fun.
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July 17th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Uhh I have to say that this is just as angry if not even more angrier then The Dead Walk…There are some good lines in this album if you listen closely…some of my favorite are
"Destruction is not preventable"
"I won't be happy until everything dies"
"scream all you can, while we rip you to shreds"
"We destroy the things that make the world go round, we are the reason there is blood on the ground"
…and my favorite…
"You spread disease when you spread your legs Time to suck today's dick, I hope you choke on it"
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Natalie replied:
July 17th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Um how about YOUR LIFE JUST FUCKIN DISGUSTS ME!
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Azriel replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 5:21 am
Such an amazing album. It's like Continent, but everything that it should've been and more. After The Dead Walk, I was pretty disappointed with Continent, honestly, but this album… this album…
This album just shot up into my top five of 2010.
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Adam Schultz replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Dude,
The best line they have ever come up with
When the blast wave hit, the impact burned paint from the walls onto their skin, inadvertently mixing new hues of green and blue that would never bee seen again.
Angry Mob Justice. Just look up the lyrics to that album. Misogyny all over, and some truly brutal descriptive passages.
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July 18th, 2010 at 9:40 am
This is most definitely the heaviest TAS record to date. Them being one of my favorites, they have seriously progressed a ton from 3750. Each record sounds different and Vincent gets angrier with each album. I'm in love with this album. Has anyone noticed that this album sounds more Mushuggah-esque?
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Anthony Gannaio replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
They've been compared to Meshuggah for a while now, actually. I've heard a lot of people say there's resemblance.
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burymeatsea replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
No, I'm talking even more so on this record. This album also had a lot of doom and sludge influences. "Tactical Nuke" is the best example. But yeah, "Bleed" and "The Combine" sound a lot alike but all of Continent didn't sound like Messhugah. Actually, now that I think of it "The Combine" was the only song that I could really compare to Meshuggah. The Dead Walk didn't and neither did 3750.
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gin&jesus replied:
September 3rd, 2010 at 3:17 am
It's only Meshuggah-like, in that, the sludge guitar sound is almost the EXACT tone that they use. It's a very metallic, grinding, muddy changing of notes. The guitar effects almost sound identical to Meshuggah. It's like taking Meshuggah, slowing it down, and putting it to 4/4 time, and it sounds great. It does get slightly repetitive (song structure, etc) after a few songs, but the lyrics and utter heaviness/sound really make up for it.
I like it more than their previous efforts, I think.
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July 18th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
I LOVE THIS ALBUM!
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Kevin Juliff replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o look who loves this band all of a sudden
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Lee replied:
July 18th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Love the ALBUM, not the BAND
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July 19th, 2010 at 8:05 am
It's a very dull album indeed. Absolutely no new ideas whatsoever, and the last track is the biggest waste of 6 minutes i've ever heard. This review reeks on fanboyism too. You haven't said anything negative about an album that is clearly average at best…
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July 19th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
this album is fucking bad, youre all in denial, i wish he sounded like he did in The Dead Walk still and if he did this album would sound so ridiculous. and the lyrics are repetitive and lack-luster. most of the album is just breakdowns and its boring, TAS let me down again… but its still not as bad as Continent and i love the artwork
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WTFTAS replied:
July 19th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
and all the lyrics in The Dead Walk are fantastic
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Cam replied:
July 31st, 2010 at 1:51 pm
I don't think people are in denial. Some people thing the album is good and some think it's bad, you can't expect everyone to not enjoy they album just because you think it's "boring".
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July 20th, 2010 at 10:41 am
This album is really awesome
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July 23rd, 2010 at 6:16 am
Personally, I thought Wormwood was decent, was way weaker than Continent, which was an incredible album. I got disappointed there that they didnt top their last album, though it would be hard to top Continent, and the lyrics had some decent lines, but it was all like A B rhymes which irritated me immensely, Vincent Bennett is an amazing lyricist, he gets pure raw emotion out and is fantastically clever and I just think he couldve done better on the lyrics this time around since all of his other albums the lyrics were amazing.
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July 24th, 2010 at 9:28 am
People that don't like this album have obviously never had their assholes licked before.
This album is really (sic). It took me a couple play-through's to really appreciate it. But if you take time to actually LISTEN to the album instead of being a douche bag, then you'll realize that the effort they put into this album dwarfs their previous albums. The musicianship is superior and the actual music arrangement is far superior. And I'm having a really fuckin hard time deciding which album is more brutal, 'New Era of Corruption' by Whitechapel, or 'Wormwood' by The Acacia Strain. I'm leanin towards wormwood…
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July 24th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Listening through this so far, I am getting afraid that TAS is being heavy just for the sake of being heavy. Too many bands are delving into lower, heavier sounding territory and I just hope TAS begins to adapt and progress sooner rather than later because their "heavy as hell" niche is getting a little crowded.
Oh and while the lyrics are totally fun, this is the reason why metal and all the subgenres associated with it are inappropriately or too hurriedly accused of having lyrical content focusing on killing everything and wanting the world to draw and quarter itself.
Oh TAS, how I love you and hate you.
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Chad Smith replied:
July 25th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
let me quote you for a sec. here,"this is the reason why metal and all the subgenres associated with it are inappropriately or too hurriedly accused of having lyrical content focusing on killing everything and wanting the world to draw and quarter itself."<—– this sir is the prime example of someone take the lyrics literally, if you do a little research, and listen to some interviews, you would know that Vincent Bennett uses a lot of metaphors for things like when it sounds like he's talking about a women, he uses the she or her references in songs as a poetic way of talking about mankind in general, and if you've never noticed a lot of bands in metal when they talk about destruction or death of something they don't always mean it literally in most cases there talking about it metaphorically,meaning something needs to be cleansed, or a fresh start,(so as to say that from the ashes of the destruction can bring new life, rebirth, or a way of starting over), and believe me I've done my homework just look it up if you don't believe me, well that is my two cents for now.
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Jen replied:
July 25th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Josh isn't saying he's taking the lyrics literally; he's saying that a 14 year old kid listening to The Acacia Strain is likely to take them literally. Not everyone does research on a band that they listen to, and kids are very impressionable. I find the lyrics to be ridiculous, and I could care less if he's speaking metaphorically. I saw Vince stand on stage and proclaim "I am the most miserable human being on the fucking earth" in front of a room full of people. What percentage of those people are going to go home and do research to see if he's speaking metaphorically? If they're like me, they've heard all they need to hear. I don't care how good their music is – either Vince is a douchebag or he's using a gimmick to sell music. Either way, it's not for me.
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Chad Smith replied:
July 26th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
I get/understand your concern for kids, but with the right up bringing and parents that actually take an interest in there kids lives, then TAS music won't be a issue as far as taking it for face value. My parents always gave me the freedom to listen to whatever music I wanted to and it never made the wrong impression on me, of course I had parents who cared and talked to me about a lot of things involving life and the different kinds of people I would encounter. We live in a generation now where kids are committing more and more crimes because parents don't get involved with their lives, or simply don't care, and without proper guidance from parents a lot of these kids are going to get there advice from other friends most likely stupid advice, I believe a lot of it to be because more and more kids now a days are having kids themselves, meaning they hardly have a good grip on there own lives and now there about to bring another life into this world scary thought when you consider a lot of the teens now a days, I'm not saying all teens are ill-prepared but a lot are. Another thing that really gets to me is how society considers physical punishment wrong or something that should be outlawed, are you kidding me, I'm not saying it should be a parents first line of defense, more as a last resort. I have numerous cousins and friends of the family that where raised by parents that didn't believe in physical punishment of any kind, instead they got time-outs and privileges took away, to which there kids thought was stupid in the first place, because A) a time-out didn't teach them a damn thing because they knew whatever they did got them a time-out which is just sitting for a few minutes and then they were right back at it, and B) taking a privilege away doesn't mean a damn thing because they would do it at another friends house, or they would find whatever they took away from them when they weren't home, and then put it back where they found it before there parents got home. You know where most of those people are that I knew when I was little, dead, on drugs, or in and out of jail, honestly. I was a wholly terror when I was a little kid and my parents tried those cookie cutter techniques on me and it got them no where because no matter how many time outs I got, or things took away, it just didn't seem to phase me for some reason. So that's when they stepped up to taking the belt to me, and it was never anything excessive, but it hurt me enough to know my parents meant business but at the same time loved me enough to make me a better man for the future, and from the days I started getting the belt I always thought about the consequences of my actions because I knew what was coming from my parents if they found out. It honestly helped to, because I started respecting them more, and trying harder in school, and then once they saw that from me I started getting more freedom from my parents because they trusted me a whole lot more. As for the whole Vince thing on stage comment, well its called shock value, and its been happening since the seventies with the likes of Alice cooper, Ozzy, and so forth. Where as I don't always agree with shock value, there's always people out there it's going to appeal to, or make them like that band more, which is what there looking for, something to get them ahead of the pack or to stand out. So in closing don't take anything I have said as disrespectful(because I'm not being disrespectful) or to heart, its just that I like having debates with other people because it is a fun and cultural aspect of life, and something most human have in there blood.
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Josh Velliquette replied:
July 27th, 2010 at 1:15 am
What an epic response. Points taken but I stand by my comments. Keep rocking!
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Chad Smith replied:
July 28th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
right on, right on, hell if we don't have our beliefs, what do we stand for, ya feel me, and I would be the same way if I were you, don't ever let'em take away your freedom of speech.
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MCIcelandish replied:
July 29th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
You want to talk about negative influence on impressionable youth? Fuck this group I got to give it to Fox News for that.
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Jen replied:
July 29th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
You know youth that watch Fox News? Seriously?
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bdguns replied:
August 19th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Actually Vincent said in a few interviews that when he say's she, he's refering to "Mother Earth".
Just thought I'd correct that.
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July 29th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
This is an album of pure brutalness for start to finish. "Best" is a very eerie track with the sample in the intro. My favorite track by far is BTM FDR.
Check out my blog!!
http://www.awantedawakeningma.blogspot.com
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August 31st, 2010 at 1:48 pm
What happened to "If you call me Vince one more time I'm going to rip your fucking head of?
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October 5th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I HATED it at first because honestly there are like no riffs in the album, just all chugs and open string stuff. Their other stuff was way better but its so heavy it grew on me. Still pretty boring compared to 3750 dead walk and continent.
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November 9th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
wormwood was the most amazing pure hatefully metal album ever! they are the most burtal band ever. no one can compare to them, the lyrics are purely amazing, and it just makes you want to destroy someones face
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November 30th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
What is this nonsense about kids and concerns about the lyrics ?
TAS's concern is about the slow, unstoppable, inexorable, almost mechanical (uncouscious ?) rush of mankind towards its own destruction. It's not a band like Gorerotted talkin about dismembering corpses and serial killers or whatsoever. I
t's talking about the dark side of humanity, history repeating over and over without people ever learning to avoid committing the same mistakes, again and again. Its a very pessimistic way of thinking (yes we're doomed) but hey, do they do music for kids or do they play music and sing because, at first, they're just a band therefore artists ? If every artist should stop producing, afraid to be misunderstood, or start to write differently because people stopped to use their brain, ok so let's all talk, write and play music like we're 14 years old.
However, if this very dark vision of Vinnie's own about how doomed we are (inside) is a lame gimmick intended to sell more… Blame me for I'm just that naive.
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December 13th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
So the other day i was walking around school and i had my ipod on shuffle. This album started to play. I was actually walking down the road (College) and some kid bumped into me. Being that were in America he said watch where your going. I didnt say a word. I just punched that piece of shit in the mouth and spit on him. Satan Bless The Acacia Strain and everything they represent. Slayer, Pantera, and now Acacia Strain. Let them rain death in the pits, and bring the fury on albums.
Fuck everything you love.
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December 30th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
^ Satan? lolllllll.
Honestly, I did like Continent more, though this is a good album. The lyric-writing became more simplistic, and some of the songs' intricacies were brought down with that.
Anyone else notice that more A-B-A-B style rhyming took place on this album?
I dunno, I feel like the lyrics were rushed a bit. It's certainly hateful, but this is like, school-fight hateful, not serial-killer hateful. Serial killer hateful is why no one I know turned down an Acacia Strain show all last year. Just sayin'.
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Josh Velliquette replied:
December 30th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Gotta admit, "The Impaler" is a great song. One of TAS's best.
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