Dr. Acula – Dr. Acula
Release Date: 28th October 2022
Label: Silent Pendulum Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Hardcore, Deathcore.
FFO: Knocked Loose, Underoath.
Review By: Andy Spoon
In its first release since 2012, Dr. Acula has reunited to release their first foray into a more serious role on Silent Pendulum Records on October 28th 2022. The Long Island, USA band started early in their career with the intention of making some absolutely insane music that was thrashy, hardcore, and extreme, not giving much of a damn in the way of being polished or refined. It was literally a band named after a Mitch Hedberg joke (Yes, we know you’ve heard it). However, their 2022 release was made with the intent to change some of the band’s image to a more serious attempt at creating their own signature sound, and more importantly, getting a specific message across to the listener.
Dr. Acula isn’t the only band who’s done something like this over recent years. Many “comedy” bands (or at least ones who never took themselves too seriously) ended up getting some level of notoriety for just being a damn good band, ultimately giving them some incentive to create a project or album that dove headlong into that new style. Examples that come to mind are Brojob, Cannibal Grandpa, and Diarrhea Planet, bands who audiences were really impressed with, hoping for some additional depth in the content. Dr. Acula is joining that group of people with their self-titled “debut” as a band with a totally different identity.
With heavy roots which appear to originate in the hardcore/grindcore and thrash metal genres, the music is intense, gritty, and full-on angst. In my own personal opinion, I think of someone taking samples of Knocked Loose and Hatebreed and combining them into a hardcore/deathcore album that is totally a noise-heavy, speed demon of an album that seeks to explore the mental frustration of being unhappy with the superficial things in life, seeking deeper meaning. The band stated they wanted to explore the proverbial “next phase” in the party/drug/sex scene that comes from the experience of living waywardly, and not finding peace or satisfaction (my interpretation) in those lifestyles, something that certainly sounds like a retrospective on their 2012 mindset.
Guitars and drums are fast and menacing, having a good blend of the panic chords, breakdowns, and generalized thrashy-speed that gives off an incredibly intense and “disorganized” vibe, but in a distinctly-good type of way. I really think that if you are a fan of Knocked Loose, Dr. Acula’s recent release will speak to you, as the guitar technique is rhythmic and siren-like on numerous tracks, giving an additional dimension to the music that almost sounds like samples. Very few bands have managed to combine the incorporation of that sound into their repertoire, but to create a whole unique sound using (without sounding pathetically-derivative or repetitive).
There is absolutely an atmosphere of angst, disorder, and fury in Dr. Acula’s sound in 2022. If one listens to their musical roots, the “graduation” to the latter style is more of a refinement, rather than ever having gone back to the drawing board. Their sound was always intense, amelodic, and angry. Right now, it’s all of those things, but with all that energy focused on a coherent topic, coming of age, something that many of us might be experiencing at this stage in our lives right now. While I don’t personally think that it’s the newest idea, I think that Dr. Acula manages to be one of the better bands who is re-examining their own legacy and using their talent and brand to share their experience. Frankly, I’m here for it.
While the song names and album art seem to still sometimes revert back to the sophomoric days, the overall aura of the album is pretty clear and coherent, giving Dr. Acula a fair shot at making an album that is still relevant to listeners and harcore fans in 2022, 17 years after their first forays into making extreme music. The existential horror themes are present, making the album feel a little cartoon-like, but enjoyable. Knowing that a band who was never “too serious” from the get-go has made a “more serious” album is actually a little bit fun, knowing that you, as the listener, get to hear the next attempt at the band’s evolution, which is a good reason to focus on, and dive into the music. Sonically, as well as from the viewpoint of lyrical and art themes, Dr. Acula has released an impressive album that is an entertaining listen, but more from the standpoint of being an old fan and seeing them progress into another phase of their growth as artists. I am not entirely certain that it manages to break any new molds in the subgenre, making this album particularly-apt for fans of early deathcore and metalcore who appreciated their early work. 
(3 / 5)
