Metalcore band The Acacia Strain have surprised released their ninth album titled It Comes In Waves, which was released today via the New York-based metal/hardcore record label Closed Casket Activities. This latest releases is seven tracks long with songs ranging from a little over two-and-a-half minutes all the way to over eight minutes.

The band’s vocalist Vincent Bennet stated that working with Closed Casket Activities allowed the band to create a record with a shorter tracklist and experiment with a different sound. Bennet is close friends with Justin Louden, the owner of the label based out of Troy, New York.

“It’s one of those things that we just wanted to do for a very long time and hadn’t really had the means to do it. We’re usually putting out full-lengths and doing normal Acacia Strain things,” Bennet explained in an interview with Decibel. “A record every two years and there’s no room for anything that isn’t “typical” of us, so this is a fun extra thing we got to do because of my relationship with Justin from Closed Casket.”

He further explained that the new project has many themes regarding the supernatural, and humanity’s relationship to god-like figures. The album ponders whether these “deities,” have been manipulating humanity since the beginning of time.

As Bennet explains:

“The main concept is that humans have believed in deities and gods and angels and demons and all of these otherworldly, infallible beings since the beginning of humanity. They all, throughout cultures, throughout time, throughout everything, they all have commonalities, they all have this feeling of leadership, of manipulation, of humans always follow whatever these deities say and they’re known to be all-knowing, all-powerful and, like I said before, infallible. The concept of this album is although all of these cultures have different gods, what if it’s all the same “gods” that have been, throughout history, manipulating and shaping humanity?”

It Comes In Waves

01. Our (3:44)
02. Only (2:43)
03. Sin (3:59)
04. Was (5:45)
05. Giving (2:54)
06. Them (2:19)
07. Names (8:47)

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna