Slow Decay
The Acacia Strain · 2020
43 min · 12 tracks · punk rock
A crushing blend of downtuned guitars and anguished screams, embodying a visceral confrontation with despair and existence.
Top tracks — play these first
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Feed a Pigeon Breed a Rat — This opening track sets an ominous tone with its gut-punching riffs and relentless energy, encapsulating the album's overarching themes of decay and confrontation.
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I Breathed In the Smoke Deeply It Tasted Like Death and I Smiled — With its haunting lyrics and dynamic shifts from melodic to chaotic elements, this track exemplifies the band's ability to blend atmosphere with brutality effectively.
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Earth Will Become Death — Closing the album with a powerful sense of finality, this track combines emotive vocals and heavy instrumentals to leave a lasting impact on the listener.
Elevation
Our rating, out of 100 — and why.
AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.
The record combines heavy instrumentation with intense themes, showcasing strong craft but moderate cohesion.
What we noticed
- The album features a consistent use of downtuned guitars and harsh vocal styles, creating a dense, heavy sound throughout.
- Tracks often shift abruptly between tempos, with several songs incorporating slower, atmospheric sections that contrast with the aggressive passages.
- The lyrics explore themes of despair and existential dread, often delivered in a visceral manner that enhances the emotional weight of the music.
- Composition 25% of the score
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7/10
- Craft 20% of the score
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8/10
- Durability 25% of the score
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6/10
- Distinctiveness 18% of the score
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7/10
- Sequencing 12% of the score
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5/10
the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics
production, performance, arrangement
whether it rewards returning to it
whether it sounds like itself
running order, pacing, length
Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.
Is this for you?
Good fit if you like
- steady intensity with gradual buildup
- immersive soundscapes for deep focus
- haunting atmospheres evoke unease
- for late-night introspection
- crushing riffs for cathartic release
Maybe skip if you
- seekers of instant gratification
- prefer upbeat, lively tracks
Where this album fits
- In the catalog
- Breakthrough — Debuted at number 11 on Billboard Hard Rock chart, marking significant commercial achievement.
- Career context
- Released on July 24, 2020, 'Slow Decay' is The Acacia Strain's eighth studio album, following their 2019 EP 'Gravebloom.' At this point in their career, the band was solidifying their status within the metalcore scene, known for their relentless sound and thematic depth. The album showcases their evolution while remaining rooted in the heavy, aggressive style that fans expect.
- Stylistic neighbors
- Converge· Norma Jean· The Red Chord
Tracklist
Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.
- 1 Feed a Pigeon Breed a Rat 3:39
- 2 Crippling Poison 2:34
- 3 Seeing God 2:48
- 4 Solace and Serenity 4:37
- 5 The Lucid Dream 4:05
- 6 I Breathed In the Smoke Deeply It Tasted Like Death and I Smiled 4:44
- 7 Crossgates 1:08
- 8 Inverted Person 3:23
- 9 Chhinnamasta 3:50
- 10 One Thousand Painful Stings 4:29
- 11 Birds of Paradise, Birds of Prey 3:49
- 12 Earth Will Become Death 3:57
Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata
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