Album review: The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God Here

By DAN SOUTHALL

THE Acacia Strain have built a big reputation of creating brass-ball heavy music for a long time now, even pushing their own boundaries with tracks such as “Coma Witch” or the entire depressive sludge of the It Comes In Waves album.

You Are Safe From God Here is an investigation of society’s liturgy, ignorance and self-aware depression brought on by a knowledge of the former. It poses the question ‘If there was an all knowing God, what would it think of us now?’ Almost more importantly, would it bother to save us?

Being the band they are, little time is wasted getting down to the business of crushing skulls and kicking shins. “eucharist i: Burnt Offering” drones in and takes off with the heavy down-tuned riffs The Acacia Strain have trademarked, and the opening line is the call to arms of the album.

From the outset, if you even know one or two tracks by TAS then you are aware of the formula. Yet there is far more venom dripping off everything here, from vocalist and band leader Vincent Bennett’s misanthropic lyrics being held up as a mirror to society, or the band doing their best to create a soundscape to match the hate.

“The Machine That Bleeds” verges on grind before it hits a breakdown like a truck hitting a brick wall with added spite from hardcore buddies God’s Hate, all before veering into a two-step groove and grinding out again.

Both the formula and the short track lengths make this album difficult to describe, other than it puts me in a happy place as only a handful of bands or albums can. The musical power consistently on display culminates in the final track.

“eucharist ii: Blood Loss” doesn’t just break the three minute barrier, it eviscerates it at almost 14 minutes, thus making up a solid chunk of the album. Exploring every crushing mood that comes before it, this could easily have been a quick follow up EP instead of the album pinnacle.

Thankfully, it was left here to torture the listener one last time, looking to hit the ultimate brown note to rattle you loose involuntarily.

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