Rizzo, the fact that you mentioned Doom Riders makes me glad you exist! And also, I've been hearing a lot lately about Sinking Ships, I suppose I should check them out?
Yeah def. They sound a lot like CBK and Champion but they kinda throw their own stylings in there. I have a review up on another site of it but today I'm not feeling the shameless selfpromotion vibe so PM me if you'd like a link.
With regard to The Acacia Strain, as pointless as it is to dis someone else's musical taste, it wasn't so much a dig at you as at the band themselves.
It just seems to me that there's no real structure to it. There's plenty of cool licks that they throw in but they don't actually fit into the song in any way. Then theres the fact that the melody never seems to develop beyond open chords muted e.g. jugga jugga at various tempos.
And then the subject matter and lyrics... Emotional is fine, I like emotional hardcore but whining selfindulgence is best reserved for poppy bands who can pull it off.
I've given it two listens through on my mp3 player and I can honestly say I ain't feeling it.
Hell, I'd rather listen to Dwid's "goth" band, Roses Never Fade.