FILE UNDER: A SLOW DEATH(CORE)

THE ACACIA STRAIN
Wormwood (Prosthetic)

The Acacia Strain are in no hurry. The songs on their fifth album, Wormwood, aim for the groove of Pantera, but slowed down to Crowbar speed; the band play an ugly, crawling style of deathcore, with some of the most creepily misanthropic lyrics in all of extreme music. Vincent Bennett’s delivery makes lines like “Your blood will blanket the earth/I am the shot heard ’round the world,” weirdly believable, not just more of the hyperbolic hostility metal bands have been trafficking in since the ’80s. The music isn’t all it could be, though; the songs feel longer than they actually are, and digital production trickery does little to make them exciting. The closing instrumental “Tactical Nuke” is so downtuned and dragging it sounds like it’s playing at the wrong speed, something which should be impossible on a digital device.

[From AltPress.com.]

THIS WEEK IN ST. LOUIS AND SAN FRANCISCO

Rodrigo y Gabriela/Alex Skolnick Trio

First things first: Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela doesn't play flamenco. Its mostly acoustic music features a little bit of flamenco, but it's more correct to say that the pair mixes together jazz, metal and global influences. However, Rodrigo y Gabriela's sound is expansive enough to include guest appearances: Its latest album, 11:11, features cameos from smooth jazz duo Strunz & Farah to Testament lead guitarist Alex Skolnick (whose trio is opening the show). The disc features eleven tracks dedicated to its influences, including tango composer Astor Piazzolla, Palestinian group Le Trio Joubran and Pantera's late guitarist, Dimebag Darrell. In performance, "RodGab" is kinetic: Rodrigo Sanchez spins out melodic, occasionally distorted runs as Gabriela Quintero strums forceful chords or beats out lightning-fast rhythms on her guitar's hollow body. This is no "sit quietly and applaud politely" show — even without electricity, it's pure energy.

Galactic

New Orleans instrumental funk sextet Galactic has built a sterling reputation on the jam-band scene, rocking Bonnaroo, the seagoing Jam Cruise, and many other gatherings of the unwashed. The group's studio albums provide killer backdrops for a fistful of highly regarded guests. The 2007 release, From the Corner to the Block, was a hip-hop effort featuring Bay Area MCs Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab, Lateef the Truth Speaker, and Boots Riley, among others. On its latest effort, Ya-Ka-May, Galactic represents its hometown, past and present. The hard-grooving disc includes contributions from old-schoolers Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint, as well as Trombone Shorty and the so-called "bounce" rappers Cheeky Blakk and Big Freedia — the last of whom will be at the Fillmore, along with Cyril Neville, when Galactic comes to town on Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6.