Straight from the cultural hub of Southern California comes the politically charged Powerviolence group ACxDC. The group was formed in 2003 and has amassed a bit of a reputation on the scene for their extreme political views and violent imagery.

With an impressive back catalogue of various styles of releases, their second studio album "Satan Is King" comes six years after their debut self-titled release "Antichrist Demoncore". The artwork conceived by Dylan Garret Smith is very simple in its approach and of a more Black Metal styling, seemingly to tie in with the satanism element of the band's persona.

Instantly being hit with an onslaught of dissonant notes to open "Singe" that instantly creates a distressing atmosphere before a brutal assault of blast beats and aggressive riffs to settle the listener in for their journey through the album. "Mouth Breather" continues in this style, opening with a deliberate style of music before we are once again thrust into the chaos of the main body.

Jumping forward to the album's titular track, "Satan Is King", the aggression and energy that is given out throughout doesn't let up and the listener is once again subjected to an all-out aural assault. "Turncoat" comes as somewhat of a breather for the listener with a slightly less intense pace and riff, it almost feels as a breakdown for the album, however the band do still deliver the intensity in buckets towards the end of the track.

The next two tracks "Matapacos" and "Copsucker" again continue on this very aggressive and relentless pace. However, and this is not something I would normally do, I would like to issue a potentially divisive view on the lyrics of these two tracks. I will always try to disassociate politics from music; however, I feel a line was crossed, actually, I feel the line is a distant speck behind the band on the horizon, with the lyrics contained in these two tracks. Look into it and see what you think, you may disagree with me, that's the beauty of music.

When we hit the next album breakdown, "Propaganda Of The Deed" I was ready for it, just a breather in an album that just doesn't falter for the energy they give off. Again, ACxDC once again whack up the intensity of the track a notch toward the end to build into "Exercise In Futility" which is again chaotic and, in my opinion, messy.

The tail end of the record continues down the well-established routine laid out before it by the previous tracks. With intensity, chaos and aggression.

Overall, I didn't really enjoy this album. I understand the chaotic nature of the music is appealing to some, however as I mentioned earlier it felt a little bit messy and honestly didn't do much for me. There were slithers where I could appreciate what the ACxDC could do as musicians, generally in the slower and less intense sections. But the way the album came together overall just didn't seem overly well produced and that obviously affected the way it sounded overall. The short intense tracks, generally around the 1-2-minute mark, make everything feel rushed and detracts from the musicianship of the players. Again, I would like to reiterate, that the beauty of music is what I take from this may not necessarily be what you as a listener take from it. So, if Grindcore, Powerviolence is your thing, or if you're looking to expand your musical palette, give ACxDC a listen and hey, let me know what you think!