Review Summary: Ego death
Allow me to rip off those rose tinted glasses for you and get straight to the point; mid-to-late 2000's metal and hardcore was (to put it lightly) an absolute *** show. While there were definitely some quality acts to come out of this era of heavy music, the internet proved to be a breeding ground for musical abortions. MySpace provided artists with the perfect platform to connect with an audience and fellow creators, and make something new. Unfortunately, given that this was a point in time where everything was a contest to see who could "bree bree" and "chug chug" the loudest, most musicians saw this as an opportunity to mash as many different genre elements as possible into their sound... while still seeing who could "bree bree" and "chug chug" the loudest.
This trend of piling insanity on top of insanity certainly did lead to some original music. But as many people know, originality is not an inherently positive trait. Enter stage left, Dr. Acula; a "horror themed partycore band" from Long Island that fused synths with pig squeals, wrote lyrics about murder and getting drunk, and titled nearly all of their songs after Goosebumps books. Listening to one of their early records is like hopping in a time machine to travel back and revisit the worst relics of your childhood. Even during their prime they were considered one of the most polarizing bands in the scene. Crunkcore listeners and deathcore bros were constantly bumping heads over Dr. Acula, with the former dubbing their work as immaculate and the latter claiming it was the worst thing to ever grace their ears. And when you got Brokencyde and Emmure fans arguing over whether your not your music is listenable, you know you've created some top tier garbage, intentional or not.
Dr. Acula were a meme from the very beginning, a band whose entire existence seemingly revolved around the partitioning of different crowds in the same room. So when I caught word that the band would be reuniting to drop a new record, I was perplexed, because if you asked me up until this album dropped what metal bands should just stay dead, Dr. Acula would one of the first names to pop into my head. Everything they had ever done up until this point was nothing short of a gimmick that had died out long ago. But, for better or for worse, it appears the legendary New York four-piece has been reborn, revitalized and armed with a new set of teeth.
Everything you will hear on this record is nothing short of a complete reinvention. If you were looking for a trip down memory lane a la Below Me or S.L.O.B, make a 180 degree turn and run in the opposite direction, because Dr. Acula are not here to cater to your nostalgia on this album. Instead, they're doing their absolute best to leave the past behind and lay down a whole now set of genre fusions. No more tongue-in-cheek comedic samples, no more long winded synth leads, no more keg stands and house parties. All staples of their history have been replaced with songwriting set to brutally pummell the listener into submission. And to a degree, it works.
Fusing together grind, metalcore and good old fashioned deathcore, this self-titled effort shows a vast amount of maturity and improved songwriting talent from a band you would never expect to put these traits on display. Album opener "Apotheosis" is an onslaught of chugs and crushing double bass hits that sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the record. "The Abominable Snowman Of Pasadena" might just be the best song Dr. Acula has ever written, with its thick and riffy intro reminiscent of Every Time I Die slowly bleeding into other genre tropes as the track pushes on, getting heavier with each and every section. "Egg Monsters From Mars" is a flurry of dissonant chords and pounding percussion leading into the best breakdown the album has to offer. Every track on this record is fully focused on what it's attempting to accomplish, and as a result, the flow of the album is impeccably smooth. At 27 minutes long, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and with good production to boot, it's one of the most enjoyable deathcore releases you will hear this year.
Yet despite all my praises I have for this album, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the end product. Because in their effort to erase their former selves, Dr. Acula also managed to erase their own identity, as well as make it difficult for themselves to form a new one. While the songs you'll listen to on this project are quality deathcore tracks and possess an admirable level of growth, that's unfortunately all they are; good songs. Sure, something needed to change in order for Dr. Acula to work in 2022. But the problem is that they went overboard with the rebranding, to the point where picking this record out of a lineup and saying "that's Dr. Acula" is borderline impossible. You can find the things found here in a multitude of other metal and hardcore records from recent years, and those other records usually end up suffering the same fate; immediate hype, followed by falling to the wayside, collecting dust, never to be heard again. Originality is a key component of taking your music to the next level, and despite there being a ton of elements from their previous material that would've been cool to see revamped and utilized on a new record, Dr. Acula decided to forgo that route altogether and settle for safety.
Yes, this is Dr. Acula's best record to date, but that's not without its downsides. Instead of opting to modify their classic sound for a new age or craft a brand new, unique listening experience for their audience, Dr. Acula have no more or less dropped a standard affair of meat-and-potatoes deathcore, with just enough ingenuity and talent to put them a step above their contemporaries. Mediocrity has gotten the best of one of the most instantly recognizable acts in deathcore, and while this is an enjoyable project overall, it's a far cry from being the reunion many fans wished to see.
