History Music / TheAcaciaStrain

* SlidingScaleOfIdeallismVsCynicism: Sits squarely at the cynical end.

** ''Slow Decay'': The destruction of Earth thanks to humanity's arrogance and stupidity, along with mankind's insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe.

* TakeThat: Subverted with "Skynet"; while it was commonly believed to have been a shot at Music/{{Emmure}}, Vincent has repeatedly denied this. Nonetheless, Frankie Palmeri fired back with "[=R2DEEPTHROAT=]", which kicked off a feud that finally ended when the two got into a fistfight in Albany,[[note]]the most generally accepted story is that Frankie sucker-punched Vincent, Vincent at least told him to go away and may or may not have hit back, Frankie donned a pair of knuckledusters in response, and Vincent proceeded to pulverize him[[/note]] then called a truce and wound up doing a tour together to signify the burying of the hatchet.

** ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'': "Angry Mob Justice"

** "Solace and Serenity" from ''Slow Decay'' brings up the album title in its lyrics as part of its overall theme revolving the demise of reality itself.

* EpicInstrumentalOpener: "bog walker" starts with a chunky, stoner metal-esque riff that clocks in at over three minutes before the lyrics show up.

* IdiocyncraticEpisodeNaming: The track titles of ''It Comes in Waves'' spell out the phrase "Our only sin was giving them names."

** To contrast ''Failure Will Follow'' (as mentioned above), the track titles on the digital version of ''Step Into the Light''re all in upper case. On the physical version, only "CHAIN" is in uppercase.

* IdiocyncraticEpisodeNaming: The track titles of ''It Comes in Waves'' spell out the phrase "Our only sin was giving them names.

Formed in Chicopee, Massachusetts in 2001 by Vincent Bennett (vocals), Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz, Daniel Daponde, and Chris Daniele (guitars), Karrie Whitfield (bass), and Ben Abert (drums), they very quickly built up a local reputation over the course of 2002 and released ''...And Life Is Very Long'' during the year to have something more than a demo to sell and pass around. By 2004, their relentless gigging across Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and eastern New York had earned them a deal with Prosthetic Records, and ''3750'', their debut on the label, was released that year, though Witfeld had left at some point in 2003 and was briefly replaced by [[Music/AllThatRemains Jeanne Sagan]] before [[Music/FitForAnAutopsy Seth Coleman]] filled the slot on a more permanent basis in 2004. Ben Abert also left at some point within 2004 and was replaced by Kevin Boutot the following year. The band steadily built up their reputation through heavy touring over the next year, and after Chris Daniele left in 2005, they opted to remain a five-piece. 2006 brought ''The Dead Walk'', their breakthrough album, along with the departures of Daponde and Coleman; the former was not replaced, while Jack Strong took the latter's place. 2007 brought some truly relentless touring that built them up into a truly huge name, which was reflected by the greatly increased sales of 2008's ''Continent'', and the machine rolled onward through 2009 and into 2010, which saw the release of ''Wormwood'', their fifth full-length. Laskiewicz stopped touring around this time as well and various fill-ins began to take the guitar slot, and after one final album in 2012, he formally left the band completely. [[Music/{{Oceano}} Devin Shidaker]] and Richard Gomez (ex-Molotov Solution) filled the spot, and the band quickly got ''Above/Below'', a two-song EP, out to offer a taste of the new lineup. ''Coma Witch'', the first full-length with the new lineup, was released later in 2014, and after the initial round of touring, Jack Strong left in 2015 and was replaced by their longtime friend Griffin Landa. Gomez then left the following year, with Tom Smith taking his place, and ''Gravebloom'', their first full-length with Landa, was released in the summer of 2017. Another round of touring followed, including a ten-year anniversary tour of ''Continent'' in 2018, and it stands to reason that they will continue on in similar fashion for the foreseeable future.

** "Only", "Was", and "Names" off of ''It Comes In Waves" feature chorus-like sections where the album's title is repeated like a mantra.

* EpicRocking: "Observer" (27:32), "Bog Walker" (17:00), "Pillar of Salt" (11:31), "Basin of Vows" (10:09), "Cold Gloom" (9:14), "Names" (8:47), "Sun Poison and Skin Cancer" (8:30), "House of Abandon" (6:58), "Sloth Loves Chunk" (6:49), and "The Behemoth" (6:37).

** ''Slow Decay'': The destruction of Earth thanks to mankind's stupidity, ignorance, and arrogance, along with humanity's relative insignificance in the grand scheme of things.