It’s Monday and Mondays suck, so let’s grind it out with ACxDC’s Satan Is King.
I was hoping to release the top 10 grind records of last year this week but despite the pandemic things are busy. So, it’ll come around eventually. Or it won’t. Last year I didn’t do one. Time will tell. And speaking of time, Antichrist Demoncore have a new record that dropped some time ago.
If you are into grind or powerviolence, or both, you have doubtless heard the name Antichrist Demoncore before, often shortened to ACxDC. They’ve been around about as long as AC/DC when you factor in punk years and how long those bands usually last. Forming in 2003, the band has relentlessly put out release after release on all sorts of odd formats. Even as recently as a 1” vinyl, though unfortunately it can’t be played. Yet. Splits with bands like Magnum Force, Goolagoon (there’s a band I should get on here sometime), as well as the mighty, mighty Sex Prisoner. They’re a who’s who of grind/powerviolence.
Their sophomore full-length Satan Is King is, as you might have guessed it, a not so subtle clown on Kanye West’s Jesus Is King (an artist I’ve actually never heard or listened to in all of his existence). And maybe he’s a fast rapper, but however fast he’s going, I’m sure ACxDC is blasting harder and playing up those evil vibes. Satan Is King is a long-awaited return that I was never sure we would get.
A little good ol’ hiss and ACxDC is pumping the pain with “Singe.” It is a perfect opener and is like a sneak peak of the punishment about the dished out. Hyper blasts, total grinding moments, and some moshy, break-neck powerviolence breakdowns. It moves fast at under a minute and gives just enough time to breathe before letting off the breaks and really getting into this record.
This album is in a state of rage start to finish. It doesn’t matter whether things have slowed down or sped up, Satan Is King is like the last six years of ACxDC distilled into one 24-minute opus of destruction. “Turncoat” starts out as a slamming 2-stepper, moves into some blasting, and then gets a little off beat and sludgy to finish off. “Copsucker” might actually be the most furious song on the record, and with the way U.S. events are, fittingly so.
Something that was really strong about their debut Antichrist Demoncore debut in 2014 was how good the flow of the record was. Satan Is King actually feels tighter. The production sounds sharper and the writing even more intense. Tracks like “Come Out Fighting” grind and brawl. Others like “Revenge” and “Ashes To Ashes” are total hardcore/powerviolence tracks that feel old school as hell.
Satan Is King is a fantastic powerviolence/grind record from ACxDC. Watching them eclipse their previous material was not something I was expecting but here we are. It is 2020. Maybe a new Necrophagist is next. Or Half Life 3. For now, grinders and punks, gather and get ready to pit because Satan Is King is…well…king.
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