ALBUM REVIEW: The Acacia Strain: Coma Witch

Date: October 15, 2014

Do not call them deathcore, do not call him Vince, they are only here for one reason, anger.

This is also the perfect word to describe Coma Witch and everything The Acacia Strain have done throughout their career. From Vincent Bennett's lyrics and presence;Kevin Boutot's fill oriented, hardcore style of drumming;to Jack Strong's twangy bass and backing gang vocals;this album keeps the sound they have had for 13 years now alive. Although only two removed from their previous full album release, Death is the Only Mortal, this band has a completely new look at guitar.

There were many skeptics about a new album from The Acacia Strain when it was announced. Coma Witch is the first full length album by the band to not feature original member and guitarist Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz. Instead, his guitar work that has been the backbone of the band's career, has been split between new guitarists Devin Shidaker (Oceano) on lead and Richard Gomez (Molotov Solution) on rhythm. While it is hard to replace all that DL did for the band, Devin and Richard do a very good job filling those shoes. While still heavily downbeat and riff orientated, there are moments the two of them have that are reminiscent of what DL brought to the table. For fans of The Acacia Strain, you'll still be able to tell it's the bands signature sound, but twists from the new guitarists can certainly be heard.

The majority of Acacia Strain albums, especially the more recent ones, begin with an introduction usually with a sampled recording voice. Coma Witch keeps this trend alive in the opening track, "Human Disaster", setting the tone of the album off very appropriately. When you are familiar with a bands work, the first listen to an album is usually filled with very high expectations and attentive listening. As the album goes on, there are moments of repetitiveness due to the limits that the genre of music creates, but this does not limit the album. Guest vocals is one of the largest aspects of this albums that helps keep the originality and attention. With guests such as Max Cavalera (Soulfly), Sven de Caluwe and Brendan Garrone (Incendiary) who all bring very diverse styles of singing to this album, it creates a nice change of pace, and compliments the style of Vincent Bennett.

The use of VV, instead of a W, in "VVorld Demise" isn't the only thing that sticks out about this song. This features Brendan Garrone whose vocal style differs drastically from Vincent and you notice that instantly. The song starts out at a fairly fast paced tempo with Vincent screaming. As soon as it slows down Brendan jumps in. Once it picks up again Vincent takes back over. Listening to the song a few times it makes it seem like a conversation between the two. The use of different tempos in the instrumentations are also used to differentiate between the two vocalists. It's also awesome to see The Acacia Strain, a very well-known name now, bring Brendan on board and bring some recognition to his band up and coming band Incendiary.

The closer of The Acacia Strain's 2010 release, Wormwood, "Tactical Nuke" left a lasting impression on me, and ever since, I have been waiting for the band to one up it. They certainty did that and more on Coma Witch. This album is a two disc release, the second containing a singular 27 minute track entitled "Observer." This song takes the listener on a beautiful yet very aggressive journey. "Observer" starts out with a few minutes of ambient forest sounding noises and different voice samples turning into one long breakdown that suddenly becomes a very basic but still melodic guitar sequence only to close with the only appropriate way you would imagine them to end it.

As a whole, my personal favorite songs off the album are "VVorld Demise", "Whale Shark" and "Graveyard Shift" and if you are a longtime fan of The Acacia Strain with an open mind you will enjoy this album even without having DL on board. No matter who is in the band the music will always be heavy and angry.

Please note that all review opinions are the opinions of the writer's alone. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of those at WSOU 89.5 FM, Seton Hall University, or any of its affiliates.

Posted in: Metal, WSOU Exclusive, Album Review