Acacia Loses a Strain

So I read this on Lambgoat this morning…

“As you may know, The Acacia Strain has had an unusual arrangement with guitar player Daniel ‘DL’ Laskiewicz for several years now. Specifically, Laskiewicz writes their music, but doesn’t tour.”

…and actually, no, I did not know that. I mean I knew it had been a really long time since Laskiewicz toured with the band ’cause I’ve seen them live and been like “Oh Laskiewicz isn’t here,” but I didn’t realize he was still writing with them. Which I guess is just as well, because now he won’t be doing that, either. Reveals the guitarist in a statement:

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, I haven’t played a show with The Acacia Strain in years and I’ve just been writing the music for them. I’ve been informed today that they will continue on without me, meaning shows and writing albums. This is totally understandable and I wish the band the best. I’ll be around, as I’m still recording and producing and also have another project in the works. So once again, I WILL NOT be writing for The Acacia Strain anymore. It’s been fun tas, later!”

Actually, it is insanely weird that even though I had no idea Laskiewicz was still writing their music, I am now really worried about his dismissal from the band? I’d be curious to know how much of the music Laskiewicz was writing, and what, if any, role the other members of the band were playing in that process. Laskiewicz himself says he’s “been writing the music for them” (emphasis mine, in case that wasn’t clear), which suggests that he’s solely responsible for all of the band’s crushing riffs and catchy arrangements. But it’s possible he just didn’t choose his words very carefully, or I’m misinterpreting his meaning. Which I sincerely hope is the case. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing but love and respect for the other members of the band, but they can no longer supply that absolutely crushing shit that’s made me fall in love with them over the years, well… yeah, that’s gonna be an issue.

I guess we’ll see whenever the next The Acacia Strain album comes out. In the meantime, they will, at the very least, continue to decimate live. They join Lamb of God’s currently in-progress tour with Anciients next month; here are dates:

Wed/Jun-12 Ft. Wayne, IN Pierre’s
Thu/Jun-13 Rochester, NY Water Street Music Hall
Fri/Jun-14 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
Sat/Jun-15 Montebello, QC Montebello Marina / D-Tox Fest
Sun/Jun-16 Portland, ME State Theater
Tue/Jun-18 Worcester, MA Palladium Ballroom
Wed/Jun-19 Baltimore, MD Rams Head
Thu/Jun-20 Norfolk, VA The Norva

[via Lambgoat]