The Acacia Strain - Continent

Pretext: There is a good chance you have listened to this album if you were an angst-ridden teen in the mid-2000s.The internet was becoming more accessible, and extreme music was building a strong platform in cyberspace. This was also marking the beginning of widespread music pirating, so I imagine you all downloaded this album on Limewire or Ares (I preferred ares, but my many laptops did not). 

I actually first bought this album in Winter of 2009. It was strategically placed in the Latino music section of Walmart, which to this day I don't understand why. It didn't matter. I had heard of The Acacia Strain, so I was ready for some br00talxdeathcores. 

I was disappointed, so I gifted the album to my cousin. Two years later, I asked for it back, and he didn't mind returning the album. After that, I studied the album a bit more, and formed a more diverse opinion on the music. Let us get started!

Continent was released in 2008 under Prosthetic Records. Being the fourth release from the band, The Acacia Strain had a good start marking their territory in the scene. Despite the style being a mixture of hardcore and deathcore, the act has been cited to reject the tag deathcore. The album goes through motions of hardcore riffing and chugging breakdowns. A lot of the ideas explored on this album are interesting for their time, but the album falls into a routine with many songs being strikingly similar.

The intro track "Skynet" begins with a provoking syncopated breakdown that falls in tempo slowly. Afterwards, the hardcore begins. I'm sure we can all remember this riff just by thinking of it. The first half of the album is the strongest point, having the most differentiating tracks. A d-beat drumbeat even makes it's way onto the album in the song "Dr. Doom," further solidifying the hardcore sound.

Lyrically, the album is very hateful and apathetic. Some songs are also misogynistic, which was common for bands back then. The lyrical work is vague in meaning. This shows as a positive, making it easy to immerse into the no-holds-barred world The Acacia Strain creates. There is also story-telling, "Seaward" being a prime example. The lyrics paint a short story of a man in the middle of nowhere, brazenly taking advantage of a woman. I do find the lyrics a strong point, though they are a bit one-dimensional.

Though monotonous, the music very involved and emotionally aggressive. No blast beats appear on this album, but drumming is my primary interest. He is able to expand with fluidity on simple sections. He can also take the backseat in a song if need be. The breakdowns are extremely catchy, even somewhat technical like in "Seaward" or "Balboa Towers." The album shows exceptional musicianship, but it isn't apparent with only one or two listens.

The production is what you would expect from any deathcore act of this time, but flavored a bit differently. The guitar tone is very reserved, moving the drums and vocals to the frontlines. Even so, the drum production is not abrasive, but mellow. This allows the album to exploit the heavy sound in a varied way. The vocal mix weaves into the music. None of the instruments are battling each other, giving a smooth, although weighted sound.

The biggest problem is the monotony. The tracks begin to use riffing that is similar song from song. Consistency is always good, but not when the riffs sound almost exactly the same. "JFC" and "Balboa Towers" have intros so similar, I couldn't tell them apart on my first few listens in 2009. This is what initially turned me off from the album, and why I gave it away in the first place. The album only holds my attention for the first few tracks, then I'm only mindlessly listening.

I hold this album to a high degree personally. It was part of a movement of music I miss very dearly, and was very influential for my generation. This doesn't change the fact that the album falls on it's face in certain categories. You can only hear the complexity in the music after continuous listening. If you don't enjoy it right away, you'll probably sit it back on the shelf to collect dust. I would definitely suggest listening to the album multiple times, you will at least keep a few tracks on your playlist.

Production: 7/10
Musicianship: 7/10
Creativity: 6/10
Overall: 7.5