The Acacia Strain – DREAM TOUR

In this Dream Tour segment, Devin Shidaker of the metal band, The Acacia Strain, shares the acts that he would include on his ultimate tour lineup. You can check out his picks, after the break.

SLAYER has been one of my favorite bands ever since I started branching out in middle school and discovering new music of my own. I walked into a record store and bought Seasons In The Abyss when I was in seventh grade, and it changed my life. There was no dramatic or cheesy intro for that record; right off the bat it kicks you in the face. Unfortunately I have never even had the chance to see Slayer live, so I think that touring with them and seeing them play every night for weeks would more than make up for that. You don’t know what heavy music is unless you’ve been driving at three o’clock in the morning going 80+ miles an hour blasting Angel of Death.

MESHUGGAH is a band that completely redefined “heavy” for me. The first time I heard them was when they released their album “Nothing”, and I have been a fan ever since. Meshuggah is one of the very few bands out there that releases consistently good music. Every record they have put out has been awesome, Even their early material was was groundbreaking. I would love for the chance to sit around and talk gear with Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström. These guys somehow manage to make even clean and ambient parts sound crushingly heavy, it’s truly mind blowing.

PULLING TEETH was (and still is) one of my favorite hardcore/metal bands. When this band was still making music, they put out some of the darkest records I have ever heard. Listening to Paranoid Delusions/Paradise Illusions EP puts me in such a weird/focused mindset every time I listen to it. These guys went out on the highest note possible with their last album Funerary, which is a masterpiece. The song “At Peace” is one of my favorite songs of all time, it’s great musically, and the lyrics are extremely emotional. If this band was to reform just for my “dream tour”, I would probably mosh myself into a coma on the first day of tour. RIP Pulling Teeth.

KUBLAI KHAN is probably my favorite band to tour with, so my “dream tour” has to include them. I could hang out with these dudes every day of the year and not have one dull moment. Go see them live if you want to see a live show that actually means something. These guys pour their hearts out into their music, and every drop of sweat that comes off of them on stage is earned from the hard work they put into their music and touring.

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