The Acacia Strain – “Gravebloom” [Album Review]

In recent years there have been very few bands who have come close to matching Massachusetts metallers The Acacia Strain when it comes to outright gut-wrenching brutality and, judging by their latest slab of despondency, Gravebloom, that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Okay, so you could level the criticism at them that they have, despite numerous line-up changes, never strayed too far from their path but, really, when the heaviness is of the standard this band have demonstrated throughout the course of their career, it’s hardly surprising. Right from the opening shudder of “Worthless”, Gravebloom hits hard.

The Vincent Bennet-fronted band lurch and grind through eleven tracks of rumbling misery like only The Acacia Strain can. “Plague Doctor”, “Big Sleep” and “Calloused Mouth”, are just three examples of how devastating this band are. Brutal, furious riffs, bone-breaking drums and Bennets’ fuck-you howl combine to make a sound that is, quite simply, fucking unpleasant to listen to.

Unfairly lumped in with the deathcore genre, The Acacia Strain are so much more than that. If you’re a fan of the band you’ll know that and Gravebloom will give you everything you want from them, if you’re not, prepare to experience an album that will leave you feeling grubby for weeks.

Gravebloom Track Listing:

01. Worthless
02. Plague Doctor
03. Bitter Pill
04. Big Sleep
05. Gravebloom
06. Abyssal Depths
07. Model Citizen
08. Calloused Mouth
09. Dark Harvest
10. Walled City
11. Cold Gloom

Run Time: 47:51
Release Date: June 30, 2017

Check out the track “Big Sleep”