Dr. Acula

Dr. Acula announce first album in 10 years (stream "The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena")

Long Island chaotic hardcore vets Dr. Acula are reunited and gearing up for their first tour in 10 years, and now they’ve announced their first new album in 10 years, which is self-titled and due October 28 via Silent Pendulum Records (pre-order). The album was engineered by Anthony Lopardo, mixed and mastered by Moon Tooth drummer Ray Marte, and features guest vocals on closing track “The Barking Ghost” by Kyle Medina of Bodysnatcher. Speaking about the new material, bassist Rob Guarino says:

To put it frankly, this chapter of Dr. Acula is a ‘party’s over’ vibe. When we started over 15 years ago, it was all fun and games. We weren’t really paying attention. Now we’ve grown, our fans have grown, and there’s a conversation to be had. Life isn’t great for most people these days and we wanted to write something that could touch on that. Those are the songs that move us personally and we wanted to challenge ourselves to make that for someone else.

The album’s overarching theme is that of being stuck on a loop. A loop where shit keeps going wrong. Even if you see it coming, you may not be able to fix it because it’s out of your hands. The horror theme of the song titles ties into how terrifying life can be.

The first single is “The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena,” which vocalist Rob Accardi had this to say about: “We’ve written a lot of songs about how partying and doing drugs is fun. With this album we really wanted to explore the darker side, both lyrically and musically.”

“It’s a new perspective that comes with experience,” guitarist Lou Figurito adds. “Going from youthful recklessness and invincibility to the realization that the down sides will eventually get the upper hand. ‘Snowman’ is a first person perspective of one of those nights, turned early mornings, where that realization starts to settle in.”

You can definitely hear that darker, more mature perspective coming through in the new single, but just because they’ve gotten a little more serious doesn’t mean they’ve toned down the chaotic attack of their music. It’s a rager, and you can hear it below.

Dr. Acula’s upcoming tour dates include a hometown Long Island show this Saturday (7/2) at Amityville Music Hall opening for SeeYouSpaceCowboy, alongside Foreign Hands and Omerta, and then Dr. Acula are hitting the road with support from Curses and p.s.you’redead. All dates are listed below.

Tracklist
1) Epilogue
2) Apotheosis
3) The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
4) How to Kill a Monster
5) Welcome to Dead House
6) Egg Monsters from Mars
7) Don’t Go to Sleep
8) Stay Out of the Basement
9) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight
10) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp
11) The Barking Ghost (ft. Kyle Medina of Bodysnatcher)

Dr. Acula — 2022 Tour Dates
July 2 – Amityville, NY @ Amityville Music Hall – w/ SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Foreign Hands, Omerta
July 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fire*
July 16 – Frederick, MD @ 611 Cafe*
July 17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Preserving Underground*
July 29 – Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall*
July 30 – Manchester, NH @ Jewel Music Venue*
July 31 – Providence, RI @ Alchemy*

* – w/ Curses, ps.you’redead