Western Massachusetts' own THE ACACIA STRAIN have released their second studio update in a series of videos to document the entire recording process while at Planet Z Studios in Hadley, MA. The band recently entered the studio to record the follow up to 2008's Continent.

The band was also just confirmed to play three shows in May with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE as well as the previously reported Cool Tour 2010, alongside AS I LAY DYING, UNDEROATH, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, BLESSTHEFALL, ARCHITECTS, CANCER BATS, and WAR OF AGES.

The Acacia Strain join the tour July 13th in Atlanta, GA and the trek concludes on August 1st in San Francisco, CA. (The band was told they were unable to play the tour kick off on July 12th at House of Blues Orlando, which is on Disney property, due to objectionable lyrical content.)

The band has also just launched an in-studio streaming web cam, where you can watch the goings on at various points of the day throughout the rest of the recording process. Check in between 12pm and 2pm EST here.

In studio Update #2 the band unleash the first snippets of music from their, currently untitled new record.

The Acacia Strain's Studio Update #2 can be viewed below:

Vocalist Vincent Bennett had this to say, "We are so happy to be back at Planet Z with Zeuss and get this record rolling. We are going to do these updates often, so keep checking back to see what we are up to!"

Bennett also commented on their participation in Cool Tour: "We are going to have all new merch designs that you are only going to be able to buy on this tour. Cool Tour Exclusives! We are also going to be debuting one or two new songs on the tour. This is the first time we are going to be playing these songs live and the first time they are going to be heard outside the studio. I feel like this tour has a different "personality" than the other summer tours... it's just so... cool."

Cool Tour 2010 dates are as follows:

July

12 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues (seven bands only; no Acacia Strain)
13 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
14 - N. Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues SC
15 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte
16 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
17 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
18 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre**
20 - Boston, MA - House of Blues Boston
21 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
23 - Columbus, OH - The LC Pavilion
24 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Complex
25 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
27 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
28 - Dallas, TX - The Palladium Ballroom
30 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre**
31 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium

August

1 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield

** not Ticketmaster dates

For more information on Cool Tour 2010 head to CoolTour10.com.