“We went to Detroit with nothing – just two half demos and the goal to push ourselves beyond anything we’d done before. No ceiling, no box, no rules. What came out was the heaviest, weirdest, and most exciting music we’ve ever made.”

Words and photos by Alia Thomas (@aliathomasphoto) | April 08, 2025

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Fresh off a whirlwind US tour Acres took time at Takedown Festival 2025 to pull back the curtain on their upcoming album The Host – a record that sees the British post-hardcore outfit tearing up their own rulebook. Speaking with the kind of easy chemistry that comes from years of shared vans and stages, vocalist Ben Lumber and guitarist Alex Freeman revealed how abandoning their usual meticulous approach led to their most daring work yet.

From writing an entire album in two pressure-cooker weeks in Detroit with The Plot In You’s Landon Tewers, to experimenting with their lowest tunings ever (including one joke riff so absurdly heavy they might never play it live), The Host emerges as a genre-defying statement about addiction, obsession, and artistic rebirth. As they prepared to headline Takedown’s Metal For Good stage – a hometown triumph for Portsmouth-native Freeman – the band reflected on sold-out US shows, accidental Savage Garden influences, and why this album might just be their “dark, ambitious, and sexy” reinvention.

You’ve got your new album, The Host, coming out next month – did you approach this album differently compared to Lonely World or Burning Throne in terms of writing or production?

Ben: “Yeah, like totally different. Normally going into the studio with both of those records, we were super prepared. The demos were done, the instrumentals were done. This time, we went to Detroit and went with nothing. We had two half demos and went over and recorded a lot. I think the whole aim was to go with nothing and just see what we come back with. We had no ceiling, no box of what we wanted to make and just really try and push ourselves to make something different and special to what we thought it would be.”

What does the songwriting process look normally like for you guys? 

Alex: “So, it would normally start with an instrumental demo that I would write or Ash would write or our previous guitarist Theo. It would always start with an instrumental demo, and then we’d send them to Ben and Ben would be like, this is great or this sucks haha, and then it would just be that over and over. Then Ben would be like, “I’ve got an idea. What do you guys think of this?” It would just be that for months and months and months until we have like 10 to 14 songs that we’re happy with but yeah, this time we were there for four weeks in Detroit. So me and Ash had to write as many songs as we possibly could in two weeks and then we flew home. So that was like a deadline, and after we went home, that’s when the vocals started, and you guys had two weeks to figure that out, but it was crazy. Like, obviously, if you put a gun to my head and said, write a record in two weeks, I’d just be like, impossible, kill me haha, but yeah, this time it was just crazy.

“Every day we were doing like a song or two, and working with Landon was incredible. Just because like having another guy in the room that is a phenomenal producer, a phenomenal vocalist. Like he writes everything full plot and just having him there to just be like, “oh, what do you think of this riff?” Or he’ll be like, “oh yeah, this could go in that instance.” It was just great, yeah, all of us got involved I think everyone played on the record as well. Even (Ben) did. I think you hit a couple of opens just to say that you did.”

So it’s very much a very collaborative process for you all?

Alex: “Yeah. Like the most it’s ever been.”

Was there a specific track that set the tone or direction for this particular album? 

Ben: “Not really, they’re all so like.. a lot of people that heard the record have said like, we can’t put into what genre this album is, which is cool because there’s metalcore songs and then there’s like the song that’s the poppiest we’ve ever done, and then there’s just like, stuff that fans of Acres are used to. There’s a couple of songs on there which really sound like stuff we’ve done before.”

Alex: “Yeah, I mean, one of the songs has been like, an octave below drop B, which is probably in order of B. Like, we probably couldn’t even play live if we wanted to because we tuned so low. And it was just like a joke. But we all loved it so much that it made the record. So yeah, it’s like, every band says it, but it’s like the heaviest record we’ve ever done, but it’s also got some of the lightest stuff we’ve done on it.”

Are there any particular themes or experiences that have come through in the songs? 

Ben: “Yeah, I mean, there’s a few. So like, The Host is kind of, it’s about something that you almost can’t let go of. And if it’s like, addiction, love, drugs, alcohol, it’s really just about, yeah, The Host is that thing that you can’t let go of, and that’s what we were trying to portray like, The Host is coming in, and so everybody kind of has their Host of something they can’t let go of. Yeah, that’s kind of a running theme throughout the whole record.

“Jack, our bassist, wrote songs and lyrics and melodies on this album as well. So he helped like, structure all of it, but yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s like a theme or a concept album, but that’s kind of where we wanted to go with it.”

You’ve touched upon this a little bit already but you’ve so far released two songs off the album – can you give us a sense of what to expect from the rest? Are there any surprises in there? 

Alex: “Yeah, the next song we’re releasing is one of the best songs we’ve ever had the pleasure, well I can’t say that we wrote it, because we didn’t write most of it haha.”

Ben: “Yeah, it’s super fun, it’s like, it was the one song I heard and I was just like, this really excites me. There’s a couple on the record I’ve been really excited to release and this is one of them, and then the other one is the next one. So, like, yeah there’s surprises, I mean, it’s just stuff you’ve never heard before from Acres before, stuff we’ve never done. Like I said, there’s a real pop-y song on there, which is one of my favourites and the next single sounds like nothing we’ve done before.”

You toured with The Plot in You last autumn, across the UK and Europe. How was that for the band?

Both: “It was great!” 

Alex: “We knew we were going into the studio with Landon, so it was nice to make sure he didn’t hate our guts for like a week or so before you know, and then we just got back with touring with them in the States as well like two weeks ago. Yeah, we’re a package deal now haha.” 

How did the crowds compare across the whole tour?

Alex: “They’re a different breed, aren’t they.”

Ben: “Yeah, I mean like, they’re always very cool and I mean, Plot are just killing it right now. So every crowd that Plot has, every show we’ve played with, they’ve just been pretty much the whole torso of ours. So any show we’ve played with Plot has just been unreal, like the best shows of our lives, and yeah, we appreciate it. And also the Plot fans seem to engage us.”

Alex: “Yeah, we came back very, very stoked on how we were received in America this time.”

Have you got any specific moments from tour that have stuck with you where maybe something unexpectedly moving or surreal happened?

Alex: “Playing a sold out House of Blues in Anaheim was incredible. Yeah, there was a Thrice DVD that had growing up where they were playing live at the House of Blues, and I would watch that religiously, and then when I saw it on the tour post, I was like, oh my God, and then when it sold out, I was like, I’m terrified. Yeah, that was incredible.” 

Ben: “Yeah, yeah, I’d say House of Blues. Last time I went to House of Blues, I saw Spiritbox there with Dayseeker, and I walked in and Dayseeker were playing and I was like, wow, this place is insane.” 

Alex: “Yeah, Worcester Palladium was incredible too. We were there with Holding Absence last year and we played the small group, and we were walking through the venue and Ben was like, oh, this is nice. And one of the crew members was like, “maybe next time, boys”, and then we played it and sold out this time, which was kind of like a fuck you to that guy. He’ll never know. But it was just funny to have that experience where some guy was just like, haha, better luck next time and we were like, fuck it, we actually did it. And the band that we toured with, Boundaries, it was like their hometown show. So it just felt special for everyone. It was like one of the biggest shows The Plot In You‘s ever played. They sold it out.”

Ben: “I think it was Plot’s biggest headlining show ever.” 

Alex: “Yeah, it was. It was an incredible night.”

So we’re at Takedown Festival today which you’re headlining the Metal For Good stage at. Is this your first time at Takedown? 

Alex: “I’ve been to five – I’m from here.”

Ben: “It’s my first time.”

Alex: “I’ve been going since they were doing it at Southampton. I’ve been to like two or three of those. And then last time I came here, my friends and in Loathe were playing and they invited me down and I got to watch the Sleep Token show – yeah, it was rad. And yeah, to be able to play this year was great because I literally got the ferry here from Gosport haha.” 

What artists or albums are you listening to a lot and who’s been inspiring you lately? 

Ben: “Yeah, I mean, I keep saying this in all the press I do, but I don’t want to keep bringing up The Plot In You, but like, The Plot In You haha. Even before we did the first year of tour, I heard Forgotten and then everything they seemed to drop, I was just like, I love this. This band is great. Which then got me into the old stuff, which I really liked. So a lot of Plot, because I find them super inspiring at the moment. Who else?” 

Alex: “I like Boundaries. They are my new favourite band. We got along really well on tour and their last record that came out last year was phenomenal. It’s got a like throwback metalcore kind of vibe, very Misery Signals-esque. I listen to a lot of Thrown as well. They’re obviously killing it, and I think listening to heavier bands has kind of pushed us, by accident, into making a lot heavier music. So yeah, I’ve been taking a lot of inspiration from those guys. Who else? Savage Garden. Incredible band. Not very new at all.”

Ben: “I mean, when I’m not on tour, I don’t listen to too much music. I switch off to it.” 

Alex: “And I’m like stuck in 2008 haha.”

If you had to describe this new record in three words, what would they be? 

Ben: “I’d say it’s dark, ambitious, sexy at times.” 

We know you’ve got the new album coming, but what else can we expect from Acres this year?

Ben: “We are going back to the US in two weeks to tour with The Devil Wears Prada and Erra. Yeah, and then the record drops, and I’m not too sure what else.”

Alex: “Nothing set in stone, but we’re going to try and tour UK and Europe. Hopefully.”