The Acacia Strain
From Chicopee
About
Out of Chicopee, Massachusetts, The Acacia Strain have been pummeling ears since 2001, building a catalog of thirteen full length albums across deathcore, doom metal, sludge metal, and metalcore. The band started as a circle of high school friends and has rotated through a fair number of members over the years, with vocalist Vincent Bennett being the constant throughout. Their sound draws on a remarkably wide set of influences, from Meshuggah and Crowbar to Slayer and Hatebreed, which helps explain why their music lands somewhere between bone crushing hardcore and bleak, lumbering doom. Bennett writes all the lyrics, and they lean heavily into misanthropy and nihilism, with imagery that's deliberately open to interpretation. AllMusic described their approach as a triple guitar assault loaded with apocalyptic samples, and the Sepultura and Pantera comparisons that followed Wormwood give you a sense of the sheer aggression on offer. Bennett has long pushed back on the deathcore tag, though he's softened on it over time. They're signed to Rise Records and show no signs of slowing down. In February 2026, they were announced for the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, so if you haven't caught them live yet, that's your chance.
