CD Review - The Acacia Strain - The Dead Walk

I felt that the Acacia Strains previous album, 3750 was a good experiment at some slower moments at metalcore. It eschewed some Gothenburg melodies in favour of some three guitar layered experimentation. Unfortunately the results didn’t turn out to have a lot of great songs, although it did provide some entertainment value.

Now they’re down to just two guitarists, and they’re continuing in a heavier direction, pulling a lot of influence from Nothing era Meshuggah. The results are mostly mid paced to slow, and damn does it feel a lot heavier than some of their more melodic oriented brethren. Even operating at these slower tempos, The Acacia Strain manage to keep the action pretty busy sounding with lots of grooving drum work and lots of intertwining guitar work. It’s great to hear that some people have figured out that you can use two guitars for more than just harmonies!

There’s a lot of intensity going on, and a few memorable moments. Just enough fun to get a 7/10 out of me.

The Acacia Strain
Prosthetic Records