Dr. Acula (band)

Dr. Acula was an American deathcore band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2005, the group has released five studio albums, and One Independent EP which is long since out of print. They were signed to Victory Records at the time of disbandment. The band is known for the use of soundclips from movies and TV shows as an accent to their songs. Their band name is derived from an alternative perspective from the name of Dracula, which was originally part of a joke coined by comedian Mitch Hedberg. They broke up in October 2012.

Dr. Acula
OriginLong Island, New York, US
GenresDeathcore, mathcore, metalcore
Years active2005-2012, 2015, 2019
LabelsVictory, Uprising, Shock Street, 187
MembersRob Accardi
Bert Bolson
Lou figurito
Bill Graffeo
Rob Guarino
Mike Cosentino

History

Dr. Acula was founded in 2005. Their name was originally inspired by a quote from comedian Mitch Hedberg; "I went to see the doctor. All he did was suck blood from my neck. Don't go see Doctor Acula."[1] In the beginning the band did not take the music seriously by writing joke songs, lampooning current trends and stereotypical bands in the Long Island scene. Soon after they began to pioneer songs from their experiments and released an EP, titled Chillogy, independently the following year.

The band released two demo albums; 2006's Chillogy and 2007's S.L.O.B. (Silver-Lipped Operator of Bullshit). The band went on two DIY tours across the USA in the summer and fall of 2006. They gained the attention of Uprising Records, and Dr. Acula was eventually signed to the label. The following year their debut-full-length album, Below Me was released through Uprising, receiving mixed critical reception.[2][3][4] In the proceeding years the band saw themselves touring and performing at many local and national festivals.

After re-aligning their line-up, Dr. Acula released their third studio album, The Social Event of the Century in 2010, also through Uprising Records. It was met with better reception than Below Me, although didn't reach as wide of an audience as Uprising failed to promote the record as aggressively as Below me.[5][6] Three members of the band departed in October 2009, leaving just one original member, Bill Graffeo.[7]

After the release of The Social Event of the Century, Dr. Acula were taken in with a Victory Records contract.[8][9] The band released their Victory Records debut, Slander on February 15, 2011. On June 20 of that year, keyboardist, Joey Simpson quit the band while on The Horror Nights Tour.[10] On June 19, 2012 Dr. Acula released Nation.

On August 27, 2015, it was announced that a 10-year reunion show, commemorating the formation of the original band, would be taking place on October 3, 2015 in Long Island, NY. It featured an original line-up, including Bill Graffeo, Bert Vegas, Rob Accardi, Mike Cosentino, Lou Figurito, and Rob Guarino.

On September 13, 2019, the original line up announced they would be playing a reunion show in support of The World We Knew at Amityville Music Hall in Long Island, NY. On December 6, 2019, the band released a new song titled "Egg Monsters From Mars".

Band members
Final lineup
  • Rob Accardi - lead vocals (2005-2007, 2015, 2019)
  • Bert "Vegas" Bolson – vocals, keyboard (2005-2007, 2015, 2019), lead vocals (2007-2008)
  • Bill Graffeo - guitar (2005-2012, 2015, 2019)
  • Mike "DADA" Cosentino - drums (2005-2007, 2015, 2019)
  • Lou "Dawg" Figurito – guitar, bass (2005-2009, 2015, 2019)
  • Rob "Acula" Guarino – guitar, bass (2005-2007, 2007-2009, 2015, 2019)
Previous members
  • Craig Hecht - samples (2005-2006)
  • Peter Stolarski - samples (2006-2007), lead vocals (2007), vocals, keyboard (2008-2009)
  • Jon-Erik "Jerik" Pantorno - bass (2007), vocals, keyboard (2007-2008), lead vocals (2008)
  • William Conway - drums (2007-2008)
  • Eric Wallwork - drums (2008-2009)
  • Tyler Guida - lead vocals (2008-2012)
  • Drew Gipe - drums (2009-2010)
  • Joey Simpson - samples (2009-2011)
  • Casey Carrano - vocals (2009-2012)
  • Kevin Graffeo - bass (2009-2012)
  • Adam Stiletto - guitar (2009-2010)
  • William Gipe - guitar (2010)
  • Jesse Ciappa - drums (2010-2012)
  • Ricky Ostolaza - guitar (2010-2012)
  • Chris Brea - lead vocals (2012)
  • Oli Miclette - bass (2012)

Timeline

Discography
Albums

Singles

  • "Egg Monsters From Mars" (2019, self-released)
Demos
  • Chillogy (2006, self-released)
  • Demo 2007 (2007, self-released)
Compilation albums

Videography
  • "Is This a Party, or a Dick-Measuring Contest?" (2010)
  • "Who You Gonna Call!?" (2011)
  • "Welcome to Camp Nightmare" (2011)
  • "Party 2.0" (2012)
  • "Ironic Enclosure" (2012)
  • "Citizen's Arrest" (2012)

References
  1. "Victory Metal - Dr. Acula". Victory Records. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  2. Below Me Amazon
  3. Below Me review AbsolutePunk
  4. Below Me review Teeth of the Divine
  5. The Social Event of the Century Archived March 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine The New Review
  6. "DR. ACULA HAVE ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AS SAD TIMES". MetalSucks.net. April 13, 2010. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  7. "Dr. Acula loses three members". Lambgoat.comt. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  8. Victory Records signs Dr. Acula Archived 2010-07-29 at the Wayback Machine Alternative Press
  9. "Victory signs Dr.Acula". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  10. "Dr. Acula keyboardist quits band". Lambgoat.com. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
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