Slow Decay

Slow Decay is the tenth studio album by American metalcore band the Acacia Strain. It was released on July 24, 2020, through Rise Records, though originally scheduled for release a week earlier, on July 17.^[11]

Slow Decay
Studio album by the Acacia Strain
Released	July 24, 2020^[1]
Recorded	2020
Genre	Metalcore^[2]^[3] sludge metal deathcore^[4]
Length	43:00
Label	Rise
The Acacia Strain chronology
It Comes in Waves (2019) Slow Decay (2020) Step Into the Light / Failure Will Follow (2023)
Singles from Slow Decay
"D (Feed a Pigeon Breed a Rat/Seeing God)" Released: February 28, 2020^[5] "E (Solace And Serenity/The Lucid Dream)" Released: March 20, 2020^[6] "C (Crossgates/I Breathed in the Smoke Deeply It Tasted Like Death and I Smiled)" Released: April 17, 2020^[7] "A (Inverted Person/Chhinnamasta)" Released: May 15, 2020^[8] "Y (One Thousand Painful Stings/EARTH WILL BECOME DEATH)" Released: June 12, 2020^[9] "Slow (Crippling Poison/Birds of Paradise, Birds of Prey)" Released: July 26, 2020^[10]

The songs in the album were all released as six two-track singles, the first five of which were released in the months leading up to the album's release with one-letter titles spelling out the word "DECAY".^[12] Guest vocalists in the album include Aaron Heard (Jesus Piece),^[13] Jess Nyx (Mortality Rate),^[14] Zach Hatfield (Left Behind), and Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox).^[15]

The album went on to have over 12,000 copies sold within a week after its release, over 9,000 of which being pure copies, selling more than their previous albums such as Coma Witch and Gravebloom had in their respective initial weeks of release. The album peaked in the Billboard charts at #87 in the Top 200 chart and #3 in the Hard Rock Albums chart, along with #5 in Current Albums, Top Album Sales, and Vinyl Albums.^[16]

Track listing

Slow Decay track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Feed a Pigeon, Breed a Rat"	3:39
2.	"Crippling Poison"	2:34
3.	"Seeing God" (featuring Aaron Heard)	2:48
4.	"Solace and Serenity"	4:37
5.	"The Lucid Dream" (featuring Jess Nyx)	4:05
6.	"I Breathed in the Smoke Deeply, It Tasted like Death and I Smiled" (featuring Zach Hatfield)	4:44
7.	"Crossgates"	1:08
8.	"Inverted Person"	3:23
9.	"Chinnamasta"	3:50
10.	"One Thousand Painful Stings" (featuring Courtney LaPlante)	4:29
11.	"Birds of Paradise, Birds of Prey"	3:46
12.	"Earth Will Become Death"	3:57
Total length:		43:00

Personnel

The Acacia Strain

• Vincent Bennett – vocals
• Kevin Boutot – drums
• Devin Shidaker – guitar
• Tom Smith, Jr. – guitar
• Griffin Landa – bass

Additional personnel

• Aaron Heard (Jesus Piece) – vocals on "Seeing God"
• Jess Nyx (Mortality Rate) – vocals on "The Lucid Dream"
• Zach Hatfield (Left Behind) – vocals on "I Breathed in the Smoke Deeply, It Tasted like Death and I Smiled"
• Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox) – vocals on "One Thousand Painful Stings"

Charts

Chart performance for Slow Decay

Chart (2017)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[17]	87
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[18]	12
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)^[19]	3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[20]	11

References

1. DiVita, Joe (June 12, 2020). "The Acacia Strain Debut Two New Songs, Detail 'Slow Decay' Album". Loudwire. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
2. Max Heilman (May 4, 2023). "Review: The Acacia Strain Brings Unbridled Mayhem with Step Into The Light". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
3. Max Heilman (May 4, 2023). "Review: The Acacia Strain Mines the Depths of Doom with Failure Will Follow". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
4. Mark Tremblay (July 22, 2020). "The Acacia Strain Are Unafraid of Reinvention on 'Slow Decay'". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
5. Axl Rosenberg (February 28, 2020). "The Acacia Strain Have Released TWO New Songs". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
6. Axl Rosenberg (March 20, 2020). "Stream The Acacia Strain's New EP, E". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
7. Axl Rosenberg (April 17, 2020). "Stream The Acacia Strain's New EP, C". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
8. Axl Rosenberg (May 15, 2020). "Stream The Acacia Strain's New EP, A". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
9. Axl Rosenberg (June 12, 2020). "The Acacia Strain Release Y EP, Confirm New Album Slow Decay". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
10. "The Acacia Strain Post Two More New Songs". www.metalsucks.net. July 26, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
11. Axl Rosenberg (June 10, 2020). "Are The Acacia Strain Releasing a New Album in July?". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
12. "The Acacia Strain Guitarist Explains Why They Released Slow Decay Two Songs at a Time Over Several Months". www.metalsucks.net. July 21, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
13. "The Acacia Strain's Devin Shidaker on The MetalSucks Podcast #346". www.metalsucks.net. July 13, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
14. "WSOU First Impressions: The Acacia Strain, D and E EPs". www.metalsucks.net. April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
15. Vince Neilstein (December 16, 2020). "The Acacia Strain's Slow Decay: First Week Sales Revealed". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
16. Axl Rosenberg (August 4, 2020). "The Acacia Strain's Slow Decay: First Week Sales Revealed". www.metalsucks.net. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
17. "The Acacia Strain Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
18. "The Acacia Strain Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
19. "The Acacia Strain Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
20. "The Acacia Strain Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.