thePULSEAcacia Strain and GWAR Cut a Path of Destruction
By Andrew Jones
ACACIA STRAIN
Pulse: What was it like coming up in the Springfield music scene?
Vincent Bennett, vocalist: I would describe it as probably the best experience I guess we could have had. It’s almost family oriented. Everyone who either plays in a band, or is just into music kinda grows together. We came up with a lot of bands. Some of them flourished, some of them didn’t, but we all grew up together regardless. Being that it’s Springfield, and not a big city like Boston, it’s a little more personal, and you get to know everybody and stuff like that.
P: How are you guys feeling about the upcoming “Sounds of The Underground” tour?
V: We couldn’t be more excited, honestly. It’s the new traveling festival that every band wants to be on. It’s gonna be a really good time, and we’re really excited to be a part of it.
P: Now, with such a renowned, heavy-hitting lineup, are you guys feeling any pressure in regards to having to step up the live show?
V: Um, I don’t think so. I mean, we’re just excited to do this. We just want our fans to know that we’re there to tear up the show for them. We’re not going to be cocky about it, but we’re not going to be nervous about it.
P: Who came up with the tether ball idea for the “Angry Mob Justice” video?
V: That was my idea. It was one of those things where we catch a lot of flak, because we’re really heavy, and people think that we’re a bunch of big tough kids that don’t care about anything but beating each other up. So, we figured we’d tone it down a little bit and make a video that kinda pokes fun at ourselves. And there’s no more feminine sport than tether ball. We could’ve done figure-skating, but none of us would have been able to do that, so…
P: One thing that I liked was that you made a point to mention a huge list of bands that people should listen to on the inside sleeve of “The Dead Walk.” Now, do you think that your genre in general, and not just locally, holds a lot more respect and brotherhood with other bands?
V: I think so. I mean no matter how many tours you go on, or how many “huge bands” you tour with, we’ll always remember who helped us out, and we’ll always remember the area that bore us. We’re all friends. There’s so many good unsigned bands, and so many signed bands that don’t get the recognition that I think they deserve, so anything we can do to help those dudes out, we’re more than willing. Some bands get to a certain point, and they forget what the point of all this is. But I don’t think we’ll ever forget.
P: Alright, well, any last words for the fans attending the SOTU tour?
V: Um, just come out and have a good time. There’s a lot of huge bands on the tour, but we’re all there for the same reason, and that’s for the fans to have a good time, so I hope they do.
GWAR
Now, with a love for all things vile, violent, putrid and petrified, GWAR, the headliner of the SOTU tour, is inarguably…special. And they are certainly not for the faint of heart. These prehistoric man-creatures leave in their wake carnage, chaos, and more (way more) than their share of bodily fluids. And it’s all to the delight of their equally fetid fans. C’mon, who couldn’t love the band who brought us “Phallus in Wonderland?” Here’s what they allowed me to ask without ending my futile life:
Pulse: Now I know Oderus is the Alpha, but how does the ranking go with the rest of the band?
Oderus: Balsac is the smartest. Beefcake is the fattest. Flattus is the most flatulent. Jizmak is just confusing. Did I mention I, Oderus, am the most violent?
P: What is the band’s overall favored form of slaughter?
O: Hard to have a favorite, they are all so fun. Broad sword to the head, axe to the gut, clawed foot to the teeth, really anything that causes intense pain is just fine with me. I could even go with disease and famine.
P: What’s different about the new album for you guys?
O: I don’t know that it’s so different. It’s loud, violent music all about death and destruction. So it’s kinda the same as every other GWAR album, indeed it’s very similar to just about every other heavy record ever made. The title is different. The songs are different. Unlike some albums, this one is good…
P: Does GWAR have any known weaknesses? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.
O: None that I know of. Vanity, perhaps. I spend hours in front of the mirror…but I mean but when you are so very, very beautiful, it’s easy to understand why I’d feel this way.
P: Do you ever plan on making the numerous fluids you use on the crowd water soluble?
O: Quite the opposite, we are always devising new ways to blind and dissolve our adoring fans…I would say we are trying to be more “flesh-soluble”…nothing makes me happier than performing in front of a sea of melting faces.
P: How far, really, is “Beyond Hell?”
O: Hell is a limitless expanse which we truly have only begun to explore. After the events depicted on “Beyond Hell,” we returned to Earth, only to find our fortress in ruins. So we set the slaves about building us a new one, and went back to Hell to check it out some more…I mean it’s like going to the coolest theme-park ever, where all the rides explode and catch on fire, and Micky Mouse tries to kill you, and then there’s that river of flaming urine…so I’ll have to keep you posted!
P: How many human beings do you plan to have dead by the end of the SOTU tour?
O: I’d hate to think we were slipping in our genocidal responsibility, but [since] we insist on killing with medieval weapons, that slows the process down somewhat…can we go with “lots?”
P: What is the next step in GWAR’s mission?
O: GWAR’s whole nerve-core is bent to the task of but one thing ~ to completely destroy the Sounds of the Underground tour! We are preparing our most devastating assault yet so prepare for annihilation! Let slip the dogs of war, and hold the reins loosely!
Head to www.gwar.net for more on the greatest, grimiest, and grossest band in the Universe!
The Acacia Strain can currently be found on the place for friends at www.myspace.com/theacaciastrain.
And please, for your own well-being, check out the tour details at www.soundsoftheundergroundtour.com/.
Sounds of the Underground Tour f/ GWAR, Acacia Strain, Shadows Fall, Chimaira, Every Time I Die, Darkest Hour, Necro, Job For A Cowboy, Amon Amarth, HeavyHeavyLowLow, The Devil Wears Prada, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Goatwhore and This Is Hell takes over the Palladium in Worcester on Friday, June 13. Be there if you dare!
